Prescription drug companies have been in the news this year, as Merck and Schering-Plough both suffer criticism for manipulating information about their medications, effectively cheating sick Americans out of money through unnecessary medications, and contributing to bloated prices for what would otherwise be more affordable health insurance.

In response, Kaiser reports that officials for Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Merck and Schering-Plough will testify at a House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing, as Democrats struggle to impose restrictions on prescription drug advertisements.

According to the article the subcommittee will examine whether Merck and Schering-Plough in ads for Vytorin overstated the benefits of the medication, which a study released in January found no more effective than a treatment available in generic form in the prevention of accumulation of plaque on artery walls.

The use of such drugs has been linked to high costs in what could otherwise be affordable health insurance, since many lower-priced insurance plans won't cover anything but generics. By tricking the public into relying on a newer and more expensive drug - which they did not need - these drug companies made millions of dollars.

This year it also came to light that prescription drug companies spend more money on advertising their drugs to the public and to doctors than they do on developing the medications themselves, raising disturbing questions about just what their priorities are.

One thing is for sure, affordable health insurance is definitely not one of those priorities, nor are the painfully high costs of health care for the millions of Americans who rely on lifesaving medications.