According to the Chicago Tribune, insurers are trying to avoid the high cost of brand-name prescription drugs by giving healthcare providers free samples to pass on to their patients. "[Insurers] are showering consumers with free generic drug samples, waiving co-payments and marketing directly to consumers in doctors' offices, where brand-name drug salespeople are omnipresent." Providers are happy to have the free samples, and many patients find that the less expensive versions are just as good as their more expensive counterparts. Article