Health care costs need to be contained

Insurance premiums rose on average 6.6 percent between 2020 and 2021, raising costs for families and businesses and highlighting the stubborn challenge of rising health costs.

“The Health Policy Commission has called for lawmakers to include pharmaceutical companies and pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen between drug manufacturers and insurers, in the annual state agency review of health care costs, a process that today requires public data reporting by hospitals and insurers. Improving transparency in drug pricing would be a good first step in understanding the complicated industry and determining whether more aggressive steps are warranted, like price reviews, price caps, rebate rules, or copay limits.”

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/03/20/opinion/health-care-costs-need-be-contained/