Some health-insurance companies have begun raising the co-pay requirements for some of the most expensive prescription drugs, the New York Times reported on Monday. "With the new pricing system," the Times said, "insurers abandoned the traditional arrangement that has patients pay a fixed amount, like $10, $20, or $30 for a prescription no matter what the drug's actual cost." Now they're setting co-payment rates at a percentage of the drugs' cost, "usually 20 to 33 percent, which can amount to thousands of dollars a month." The targeted drugs include some that are prescribed for people suffering from cancer and multiple sclerosis.

Universal health care, anyone?