Apparently some Republican Party candidates aren’t expecting major contributions from Big Pharma or the insurance industry. The latest attack on those industries, by GOP candidate Carly Fiorina, was anything but a campaign donation closer.

Like Republican hopeful Sen. Marco Rubio (R, Fla.), Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO, is laying most of the blame for rising health care costs on insurers and drug makers. As reported by The Hill, she took multiple hard shots at both during a Fox Business Network debate.

Her primary target, Obamacare, came in for its share of roasting from Fiorina. But she appeared to save her harshest blasts for pharmaceutical companies and health insurers. She accused the two of partnering with the White House to create a new health insurance system that enriches insurers and drug makers while draining dollars from employers.

Read: Fiorina’s PPACA replacement plan hasn’t fared well

“Health care has always been a cozy little game,” she said. “We have to try the free market.”

The recent focus on escalating specialty drug prices, and the cost of drugs covered by insurance in general, has stirred political jabs at drug makers. Fiorina’s shots at Obamacare were of a more general nature, consisting primarily of calling for a complete repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Instant Insights /

Fiorina blasts insurers, Big Pharma during GOP debate

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