In the fall of 1955, my twin brother and I switched schools from Alexandria, Virginia, to Fort Worth, Texas, when our father left the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission to join General Dynamics’ nuclear plane project. Before we entered junior high school, we had attended eight elementary schools. In our new fifth grade was a classmate afflicted with both diabetes and hemophilia. He could not participate in recess games and we were constantly warned there could be no accidental bumping, rough housing or fighting of any kind near him. Twice each day he reported to the nurse’s office to receive an insulin shot. Despite these precautions he frequently sported large, ugly bruises.

Once a week I skipped recess horseplay for a chess match with Brandon. Despite his medical challenges, he was a very normal kid. Either of his medical conditions could kill him, of course, but without regular insulin injections his diabetes would rapidly prove fatal. I was reminded of his struggles when the Colorado legislature placed price caps on insulin prescriptions a few years ago. Developed nearly a century ago in Canada as a life-saving treatment for diabetes, insulin costs have undertaken a meteoric rise over the past few decades. This is the opposite of what market theology predicts – the cost of most products shrink over time as patents expire and competitors introduce generic alternatives.

Prescription drugs, especially those that provide relief from chronic illness or protection against premature death, rarely obey conventional economic rules. Health care pricing operates outside conventional market doctrines. Drug companies view each proprietary treatment as a discreet profit center. The more serious the illness, the greater the opportunity to wring dollars from the sick. The Colorado Department of Health and the Environment (CDPHE) reports that cancers remain the state’s largest cause of fatalities and our single biggest contributor to medical costs. For nearly a decade, cancer drugs have outpaced inflation by more than 6% each year, resulting in Americans paying 230% more for them than charged in Europe.

American drug companies apprehend the desperation motivating their customers and attempt to milk every dollar they can squeeze from disease victims. New cancer drugs have reached an average annual cost of $160,000 with an anticipated doubling of these prices over the next few years. Treatments are far beyond the economic capacity of most families. Nearly 25% of patients report skipping prescriptions or splitting pills. These unwarranted price hikes are wrecking family budgets and triggering personal bankruptcies.

Gov. Polis signed Senate Bill 175 last week, creating a Prescription Drug Affordability Review Board empowered to establish maximum pricing for as many as a dozen pharmaceuticals each year. Unfortunately, price controls rarely work outside a national emergency. While well intentioned, SB-175 seems more likely to prove a full-employment measure for Colorado attorneys. State legislators should be commended for working to assure prescription affordability. It is now time for Colorado’s congressional delegation to join the governor’s crusade to reduce the cost of health care.

Both U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper have expressed support for prescription reform. Now they need to take on a leadership role in resolving an issue that has festered for decades. As Gov. Polis noted when signing SB-175, there is no “silver bullet” for restoring sanity and morality in a marketplace that has left “Coloradans … sick and tired of getting ripped off by the high cost of prescription drugs.” The opioid epidemic which has impacted so many Colorado families is a direct consequence of pill peddling without conscience. Big Pharma is increasingly an economic predator focused on profits rather than consequences.

Individual states can only provide fleeting relief as they lack the political muscle needed to reform national pricing practices. Requiring pharmaceutical companies to adhere to ethical standards and embrace their social responsibilities won’t proceed from a regulatory slap on the wrist. Robust federal legal and regulatory enforcement will be needed. The “carve out” in the initial design of Medicare, part D, denying program administrators authority to negotiate drug prices was a blunder demanding immediate correction. Price gouging is not a partisan concern. It’s a fleecing of families that should concern each of us. The current congressional failure to address these thefts has significantly contributed to widespread voter disgust with the policy stalemate in Washington.

The Democratic Party is uniquely positioned to finally address this challenge. More than 80% of Americans believe Democrats should use their control of Congress and the White House to reform drug pricing. President Biden has repeatedly acknowledged the urgency for action. Colorado’s senators can and should provide leadership for reform. This should include limiting out-of-pocket expenses for seniors, while demanding drug companies shoulder greater responsibility for assuring access during catastrophic phases of medical care. Only Congress carries the legal standing and constitutional authority to force ethical behavior from Pharma.