Chances are good that when you look at where your own healthcare spending dollars go, medications are number one or two. Redonda Miller, president of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, says a look at the data is sobering.

Miller states, "Prices of 90% of our brand name prescription medications have doubled over the last several years. In the US we spend $348 billion dollars a year, and just to put it in a little bit of perspective our new specialty drugs, drugs that we use to treat cancer some of those are running on average $53,000 per course of treatment. That is more than the median income of a household in the United States."

Cancer drug prices in particular are daunting, with 90% of the most recent FDA approved treatments costing over $100,000 a year. Miller says while the pharmaceutical industry needs to make a profit, much more transparency in drug pricing is needed, noting that many families report having to decide between medications and food.