Norm Thurston is a “free-market guy” — a conservative health economist in Republican-run Utah who rarely sees the government’s involvement in anything as beneficial. But in a twist, the state lawmaker is now pushing for Utah to flex its muscle to spur federal action on ever-climbing prescription drug prices. “This is something that a red state like Utah could do. I don’t think this is a partisan issue,” Thurston said. “Those outrageous cost increases are not the result of the

According to new report by Vizient, providers will be staring down even higher drug prices in 2018 and 2019. Vizient's January 2018 Drug Price Forecast is predicting a a 7.35 percent price increase for pharmaceutical purchases made from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019. Categorizing the increase as a "slightly moderated level of growth," Vizient said it's actually thanks to fewer large price hikes combined with the buffering effect of the moderation in costs associated with cert