Sanders fights pricey pills

Presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) has co-introduced a bill targeting exorbitantly priced prescription medication.

Sanders and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) unveiled the Prescription Drug Affordability Act on Sept. 9, according to The Hill. The bill would allow Medicare's prescription drug program to negotiate prices with drugmakers, a practice banned under a 2003 law, and require drug companies to report factors that affect pricing. However, the legislation is unlikely to gain support in the Republican-controlled Congress.

Last year, spending on prescription drugs increased by 12.6 percent—more than double overall health spending, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “The time has come to say that ‘enough is enough,'” Sanders said. “The greed of the pharmaceutical industry is killing Americans and making many of them much sicker than they otherwise would have been.”