Fiorina takes aim at drug companies, health insurers

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina lashed out against drug companies and health insurers in her attack on ObamaCare on Tuesday, becoming the latest Republican candidate to blame industry for rising healthcare prices. 

{mosads}“Every healthcare provider ought to publish its costs, its prices, its outcomes because, as patients, we don’t know what we’re buying,” Fiorina said to roaring applause at the GOP debate hosted by Fox Business Network in Milwaukee, Wis.

Fiorina said both drug companies and insurers have been less than transparent about their practices, as they’ve increased the cost of healthcare.

Her attacks on the industry came in response to a question about ObamaCare’s employer mandate, which went into effect this year. Beyond repealing the full text of ObamaCare, she did not propose a specific way to alleviate the burdens of the employer mandate.

She also blasted the close ties that each sector has developed with the White House in the crafting and the rollout of ObamaCare.

“It’s crony capitalism at its worst,” she declared, underscoring the role that pharmaceutical companies and healthcare insurers played in the drafting of the law.

“Healthcare has always been a cozy little game,” she said. “We have to try the free market.”

Fiorina is only the second GOP presidential candidate to publicly criticize the pharmaceutical industry, even as it comes under fire for questionable pricing practices of companies like Valeant Pharmaceuticals.

The only other candidate to publicly take on the industry has been Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who accused some in the industry of “profiteering.”