prescription drugs

FILE- In this Oct. 26, 2018, file photo Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar speaks about proposed reforms to Medicare Part B drug pricing policies at the Brookings Institute in Washington. The Trump administration says it is moving ahead with a plan to let patients directly receive prescription drug discounts negotiated behind-the-scenes between drugmakers, middlemen, and insurers. Azar said Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019, the proposed regulation would encourage the major industry players to channel any such discounts to consumers when they purchase their prescriptions. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE- In this Oct. 26, 2018, file photo Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar speaks about proposed reforms to Medicare Part B drug pricing policies at the Brookings Institute in Washington. The Trump administration says it is moving ahead with a plan to let patients directly receive prescription drug discounts negotiated behind-the-scenes between drugmakers, middlemen, and insurers. Azar said Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019, the proposed regulation would encourage the major industry players to channel any such discounts to consumers when they purchase their prescriptions. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE - In this Friday, Jan. 18, 2019, file photo, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., takes questions from reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. Pelosi is laying out her strategy on health care and first up is improvements to “Obamacare” and legislation to lower prescription drug costs. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., center, joined from left by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks to reporters as he prepares to introduce new legislation that aims to reduce what Americans pay for prescription drugs, especially brand-name drugs deemed "excessively priced," during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

FILE - In this July 10, 2018 file photo, bottles of prescription medicines ride on a conveyor belt at a pharmacy warehouse in Florence, N.J. According to a report released on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2018, annual spending by the U.S. health industry on ads and promotions has reached $30 billion. That includes advertisements for prescription drugs that were shown 5 million times on TV and elsewhere in 2016. That’s a huge increase in 20 years and just part of broad health industry efforts to promote drugs, devices, lab tests and even new hospitals. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

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FILE- In this July 10, 2018, file photo bottles of medicine ride on a belt at the Express Scripts mail-in pharmacy warehouse in Florence, N.J. On Monday, Oct. 15, the industry's largest trade group announced that dozens of drugmakers will start disclosing the prices for U.S. prescription drugs advertised on TV. The prices won't actually be shown in the TV commercials but the advertisement will include a website where the list price will be posted. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

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