High drug costs were a major topic of discussion at the National Business Group on Health's conference April 18-20 in Washington, D.C., according to CNBC health reporter Christina Farr.
Ms. Farr attended the conference alongside executives who oversee benefits for major U.S. companies like Amazon and IBM.
During an April 20 session, the National Business Group on Health's president and CEO Brian Marcotte asked attendees to submit one word to describe the pharmaceutical supply chain. He posted the results as a word cloud, which included words like "convoluted," "confusing," "expensive," "a mess" and "no transparency."
Ms. Farr noted some companies are teaming up to address the underlying issues driving high drug costs, such as the joint venture Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan announced in January.
"I got a general sense at the conference that employers were unsatisfied," Ms. Farr concluded. "They asked tough questions, held companies in the drug supply chain to task and seemed eager to learn about its complexities. Let's hope they use their collective power for good."