The cost escalation of some generic drugs has gotten so out of control that two elected officials have asked the Obama administration to make a formal investigation into what's driving the increases. And, in a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services, they suggested they might take legislative action to control generic price increases.

U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, co-signed a letter to HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell stating that "these huge price increases are affecting the pocketbooks and health of millions of Americans."

The pair cited several examples of skyrocketing costs: consumers purchasing 100 asthma drug albuterol sulfate pills paid $11 last October; in April, the cost had risen to $434. Antibiotic doxycycline hyclate shot up from $20 in October to $1,849 in April for 500 pills, they said in their letter. They said at least eight generics had seen increases of more than 400 percent during that time.