When we think of filling our prescriptions with generic drugs, we generally consider them a low cost, equally effective alternative to a brand name medication.  We've also heard about the power of generics to move the price of brand name drugs and lower prescription medication spending overall. A recent example of this is Lipitor. Lipitor (generic name Atorvastatin) is a widely used cholesterol lowering medication that became available in the last half of 2012 as a generic. The generic version provided a lower cost option at less than one third of the cost of the name brand Lipitor. CIVHC analysis of data from the Colorado All Payer Claims Database pre and post-introduction of the generic version of Lipitor shows that the price per day for the brand Lipitor also dropped substantially as a result of generic competition which provided consumers with more alternatives.