The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced five bipartisan bills that aim to boost generic and biosimilar competition in the pharmaceutical marketplace by voice vote.

The fear started when a few patients saw their nurses and dietitians posting job searches on LinkedIn. Word spread to Facebook groups, and patients started calling Coram CVS, a major U.S. supplier of the compounded IV nutrients on which they rely for survival.

A wave of new treatments have cured devastating diseases. When the costs are too much, even for the insured, patients hunt for other ways to pay.

New laws target a health insurance practice called “step therapy,” which is used to control costs, but can also delay needed treatment.

Dan Brickey was stunned when he learned the news. The cost of the cystic fibrosis medicine that his 2-year-old daughter, Ali, had recently started taking was about to climb from just $180 out of pocket each year to a whopping $43,600 in 2023.

After a college student finally found a treatment that worked, the insurance giant decided it wouldn’t pay for the costly drugs. His fight to get coverage exposed the insurer’s hidden procedures for rejecting claims.

The rising price of prescription drugs has sparked outrage for more than a decade. That’s largely because medications aren’t like other expensive products.

As a health and science reporter, I’ve studied the maze of U.S. health care. But when my son got sick, I still got lost.

AbbVie for years delayed competition for its blockbuster drug Humira, at the expense of patients and taxpayers. The monopoly is about to end.

As the cost of medication soars, patients are turning to online coupons and financial assistance programs.