Shortly before Christmas, with no chance for debate or amendments, Congress very nearly slipped a major change in health care law into the year-end government spending bill. Like most such travesties, the effort was bipartisan, written largely behind closed doors, and not open for amendment or debate. Thankfully, this effort failed at the 11th hour, and the language was left out of the bill.

Republicans, including many so-called free market conservatives, sometimes fall back into a nasty habit of doing the Democrats’ leg work for them. Such is the case with recent Senate legislation that would impose an inflationary cap or penalty on prescription drugs as part of Medicare Part D.

Almost all Americans want to see lower prices for prescription drugs. Americans don’t deserve to be gouged when they need life-saving drugs. It’s also unfair that Americans often pay higher prices than customers in developed nations around the world. To solve these issues, too many in Congress want to impose state-mandated price controls.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is trying to convince the White House to lower prescription drug prices using a price control system called the “International Pricing Index.”