Obama administration, House Dems target drug prices

The White House and U.S. House Democrats dialed up the political heat on drug pricing Tuesday with separate announcements of public initiatives to address the issue.

HHS announced a public forum "to explore pharmaceutical innovation, access, affordability and better health." An invitation to the event posted on HHS's website noted the benefits of new pharmaceuticals, and also stated that the "high and growing cost of drugs has created hardship for families, employers, and states." It added that "specialty medications represent only 1% of all prescriptions but, in 2014, these medications resulted in over 31% of all drug spending." ...