Not long after political candidates pointed to astronomical drug prices on the debate stage, new analysis showed that the average price of new brand-name drugs skyrocketed in the last decade. Current and future politicians linger in a limbo of promises that can't be immediately acted on. To date, most governmental drug pricing proposals have been delayed or rescinded by the Trump administration. And pharmaceutical industry regulators, too, have been slow to make much progress on drug prices within a Byzantine mire of authorities.

Meanwhile, pharmacy giants are in a feeding frenzy, with transactions like Amgen's purchase of Celgene's psoriasis drug clearing a roadblock for Bristol-Myers Squibb's acquisition of Celgene.

Drug companies are getting bigger and health care costs keep going up. What can employers do now to fight back in this David versus Goliath setup, as the sides become increasingly uneven?