As millions of Americans skip their medication due to the ballooning high prescription costs, Congress is seeking ways to cap drug pricing.

The legislative effort, however, touched a nerve in the deep-pocketed pharmaceutical industry. Big Pharma’s largest trade group, along with its front groups and conservative organizations that receive funding from the industry, pushed back with millions of dollars of spending.

Prices of more than 3,400 drugs surged in the first half of this year, compared with 2,900 drugs that experienced a similar price hike a year ago, CBS News reported. Costs spiked by an average rate of 10.5 percent, five times the rate of inflation, the article noted.

Meanwhile, a third of uninsured Americans cannot afford to take their medication, and almost half of those who are not covered by insurance asked their doctors for cheaper options. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) unveiled her party’s plan last week to give the government a say in prescription drug price-setting. Dubbed the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, the legislation would allow the government to negotiate the Medicare price of up to 250 medications each year, including insulin, the cost of which tripled over the past decade.

Under the bill, companies that do not comply would face steep fines. […]