EpiPen maker Mylan’s CEO’s connection to the National Association of State Boards of Education may be a part of the shady dealings being investigated by USA lawmakers, including allegations that they defrauded West Virginia’s Medicaid department.
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Mylan has boosted the list price of EpiPen, an epinephrine auto-injector that can be life-saving for people with severe allergies, more than five-fold since 2007 to $608 for a two-pen package.
Bresch says in the testimony that she wishes the company had “better anticipated the magnitude and acceleration” of the rising prices for some families.
Just two months later, the association announced its “epinephrine policy intiative”, which was created to help state boards of education develop health policies that included access to auto-injectors.
USA Today reported earlier today that Manchin’s wife and Beresch’s mother, Gayle Manchin, had started an effort to have EpiPens placed in schools across the US, which may have increased their popularity in school settings.
The petition was filed in Kanawha Circuit Court and outlines the increasing price against a backdrop of failed attempts to introduce an EpiPen competitor, litigation over intellectual property and dominance Mylan has over the epinephrine auto injector market.
Mylan Chief Executive Heather Bresch is to testify about EpiPen price hikes on Wednesday before an oversight committee of the House of Representatives.
A discussion guide released by the group in November 2013 outlined the dangers of anaphylaxis, which is a life-threatening allergic reaction to food, medication, insect stings or other triggers.
“The PBMs say things like ‘It helps us keep our prices low to our customers,”‘ Maris said of rebates.
Mylan has said it has complied with all laws and regulations regarding rebates.
We have a call in to Senator Manchin on the USA Today article and accusations. The company claimed it could not provide further information until after the Capitol Hill hearings, which “could continue for weeks”, the petition said.
As of that year, EpiPens were selling for $94 at retail, but Medicare Part D paid less than that: $71.
The reasons for the rise in rebates – and drug prices – are multiple.
Using average rebates reported by actuaries from 2007 to 2014, Kaiser assumed EpiPen spending would have increased from $6.4 million to $75.3 million. The $334 difference per prescription, goes to PBMs, insurers, wholesalers and retailers, in the form of discounts and rebates, according to Mylan, which has a legal address in the Netherlands but is run from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.
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Mylan said last month that it would introduce the first generic version of EpiPen for $300, half the price of the branded product, as it tries to quell the backlash.
