In cases where there is a price spike and a lack of competition for a lifesaving treatment that has always been on the market, Hillary’s plan will enable the ability to fine or increase rebates from drug companies who are excessively raising prices.
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Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who was one of the first senators to vocalize concerns about the EpiPen price hikes, said Thursday that the Minnesota Department of Human Services estimates the misclassification will cost the state $4 million this year.
Mylan, in a statement said that the targets in the “one-time special (employee incentive) program. are not practically achievable based on pricing of any single product”.
Mylan has responded by expanding assistance programs and promising to offer a lower-cost generic EpiPen in the coming weeks, but has not moved to cut the price of the brand name product.
Clinton said that the panel will be provided with an “aggressive new set of enforcement tools” as well as the ability to slap drug makers with fines and even impose penalties for any “unjustified” price hikes.
While health care experts are urging parents not to buy alternatives online, Mylan, the only company that makes the drug, says it will finally develop a generic version after coming under intense scrutiny from the pubic.
Drug company Mylan announced a generic form of the EpiPen is in the works, but for many, the wait has them looking for other options. The presidential candidate tweeted about Turing’s “outrageous” price hikes on the toxoplasmosis drug Daraprim, back when then-CEO Martin Shkreli was the pharma villain du jour.
Her plan would also include caps on monthly and annual out-of-pocket costs for patients with chronic or serious health conditions.
Clinton also chimed in during Mylan’s EpiPen episode, joining a host of lawmakers demanding more information about a med that’s grown in price by more than 400% since 2009. Numerous companies are examples of a “troubling trend” in which manufacturers hike prices after acquiring drugs they haven’t developed on their own.
· * Expanding access to generic and alternative competition via imports from countries with safety standards similar to those in the United States.
While Clinton’s proposal would require that Congress pass new legislation-an unlikely scenario in this era of dysfunction-the bones of the plan enjoy some bipartisan support, in part because of recent public outrage over the rising price of pharmaceuticals.
Joyce said he knows the risk, but the costs have him in a corner.
According to her campaign, this initiative would be focused only on those drugs that no longer are protected by patents. Congressman Kurt Schrader introduced a bill in March that would speed up FDA approval of generic drugs where there is no competition.
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“Having the government get involved as a long-term purchaser of these products creates a stockpile to stabilize the market”, he said.
