New, ultra-expensive drugs have helped fuel the rise of health care costs, experts say.

The number of patients taking at least $100,000 worth of prescription drugs annually tripled from 2013 to 2014, according to a report from pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts.

But Dorothy Leone-Glasser says cracking down on drug prices would be a shortsighted and ultimately dangerous strategy.

The executive director of Atlanta-based Advocates for Responsible Care says in a new GHN Commentary that price controls on drugs are not the answer to high costs because they would undermine the incentives for further product development.

The new medical treatments “have saved and improved my life and the lives of 133 million Americans suffering from chronic diseases,’’ Leone-Glasser says. “Now, some politicians could jeopardize continued medical progress by capping pharmaceutical prices.”

Here’s a link to her Commentary.

Georgia Health News welcomes Commentary submissions. If you would like to propose a Commentary piece for Georgia Health News, please email Andy Miller, editor of GHN, at amiller@georgiahealthnews.com