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Scandalous examples of corporate greed (remember the recent conviction of Martin Shkreli, also known as the “Pharma Bro” CEO, who received a 7-year sentence for fraud) point to the fact that the underlying reasons for higher pricing include ever-increasing corporate executive compensation, lavish corporate spending and unwarranted shareholder earnings. Just as in military expenditures — in which we Americans contribute much more than all our allies combined — the U.S. is permitting itself to be exploited by the rest of the world in the pharmaceutical sector. (Jack Bernard and Doug Skelton, 5/4)

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. wants investors to believe that it’s not the same old Valeant — so much so, that it’s even changing its name. The truth is, it won’t be that easy to turn the page. On Tuesday, the drugmaker released first-quarter earnings, beating analysts’ estimates for adjusted Ebitda and raising its full-year Ebitda and revenue guidance. The stock popped more than 14 percent in early trading as investors applauded these signs of incremental progress. Valeant also announced a change on the branding side: As of July, it will go by the name of Bausch Health Cos. (Max Nisen, 5/8)

When the latest version of the iPhone comes out, customers can judge whether the price is "worth it" to them. In other words, consumers make decisions whether, from their perspective, price and value are aligned. The conditions for an efficiently operating market are met. There's competition, a free flow of information regarding the product, and transparency regarding pricing. Not so with prescription drugs. (Joshua P. Cohen, 5/7)

During the town halls I’ve held across Missouri in the last year, I’ve heard the concerns of thousands of Missourians. And despite what’s on cable news, I didn’t get inundated with questions about political scandals, Washington gossip or partisan food fights. But what I did hear over and over again from Missourians — young and old, from across the political spectrum — is that they’re getting hit hard by the rising cost of prescription drugs. I heard stories of paychecks and budgets simply not keeping pace with prices that skyrocket year after year. And many of these described increases aren’t on fancy new medicines, they’re for the drugs they’re currently taking. I wanted to get to the bottom of what was happening and how quickly prices were rising for some of the most popular drugs. (Sen. Claire McCaskill, 5/2)

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued a final rule (CMS-4182-F) that updates the Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicare prescription drug benefit program (Part D). This will provide incentives to encourage fraud reduction activities defined as the prevention, identification and recovery of fraud. CMS notes that reducing fraud can improve patient safety, deter the use of medically unnecessary services and can lead to higher levels of health-care quality. We agree. We also support CMS’ assertion that fraud reduction activities are particularly important given the financial challenges facing the Medicare Trust Funds, which are supported by taxpayer dollars. (Kristin Walter, 5/7)

Health care is becoming less affordable every year. Over the past 10 years, national healthcare expenditures have grown 45 percent, but our economy has grown only 28 percent. This isn't sustainable; and, solving this problem should be a top policy priority. However, “rounding up the usual suspects,” as Captain Renault might suggest, will not make U.S. health care system more affordable.One of the usual suspects is drug costs. Polling shows the American public blames pharmaceutical companies for high healthcare prices, perhaps explaining why politicians continue to float various direct and indirect price controls on drugs. (Wayne Winegarden, 5/8)