Mylan pharmaceutical has been under rapidly rising pressure from USA lawmakers – including Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. – employs questionable tactics to increase profits. Today (Thursday) I heard Mylan’s initial response, and I am sure Mylan will have a more comprehensive and formal response to those questions.
Advertisement
Instead, Mylan blames rising health care premiums and deductibles.
EpiPen auto injectors contain the hormone epinephrine, used to fight off the potentially fatal allergic reaction known as anaphylactic shock. The EpiPen’s average wholesale price has risen 500 percent (not adjusting for inflation) since 2009, setting off widespread criticism.
It also said it will offer $300 copay cards, up from the current $100 per-prescription savings.
Depending on a patient’s coverage, one pack of pens can cost as much as $600.
Clinton promised to put an end to this situation, which she said puts the lives of millions of people at risk, with a plan whereby the pharmaceutical firms will have to explain their price increases and prove that they come as a result of benefits to the patients.
“EpiPens were about $57 when Mylan acquired it”, a Forbes magazine report says.
Mylan said it will do more to help people pay for the life-saving allergy injection, including a $300 savings card for patients and doubling eligibility for a patient assistance program, but the company is not reducing the drug’s list price. School districts across the country have EpiPens on hand, too. It has a shelf life of about a year.
Mylan NV’s (NASDAQ:MYL) 400 percent price hike for the EpiPen has raised the ire of consumers that depend on the product’s life-saving capabilities.
“That’s terrible because parents even had difficulty paying for the price they were before the price increase, because if you have a high deductible insurance that leaves a lot of cash out of pocket”, said Reeves.
Mylan CEO Heather Bresch spoke about the price increase Thursday on CNBC. They joined other members of Congress, including Sen. Charles Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, has also spoken out on the issue. Richard Blumenthal, (D) CT.
Blumenthal is just one of several lawmakers who have called for investigations into Mylan’s business practices and have asked for justifications of its price increases in recent days. This means a family of four making up to $97,200 would pay nothing out of pocket for their EpiPen Auto-Injector.
Advertisement
It will continue to offer the EpiPen4Schools program, which has provided at least 700,000 free EpiPens to schools.
