The “most important factor” that drives prescription drug prices higher in the United States than anywhere else in the world is the existence of government-protected “monopoly” rights for drug manufacturers, researchers at Harvard Medical School report today.

As evidence mounts that rates for health plans sold on public exchanges are rising higher than expected and causing large insurers to cut and run from this marketplace, brokers and advisers can glean useful information from these developments.

Pharmaceutical companies have contributed more than $16 million this month to oppose a ballot measure that aims to limit the price the state pays for prescription drugs.

After being approved by a key committee last week, a bill that would have required drug companies to justify treatment costs and price hikes was pulled by its author on Wednesday.

Nearly three-quarters of Californians who didn’t have health coverage before the Affordable Care Act are now insured, yet many are still concerned about their medical expenses, according to a report released Thursday.

Patients who gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act are filling significantly more prescriptions while paying less for their drugs, according to a new study that credits the health law and adds to evidence of its benefits for previously uninsured Americans and those with chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure.