Cash Price of Epipen ... INSANITY!!!!!

[hezzier]

My FIL called the other day to make sure I was aware of it...he saw it on the news.

[ajasfolks2]

ajasfolks2 has been adding to the Twitter voice on this topic . . .

[maeve]

It is picking up steam!  Bernie has spotted about it on FB and so has my senator, Amy Klobuchar. I love her so much.

Friends who do not deal with a life threatening allergy are posting about this on FB.

Wow. 

Sen. Mark Warner has also been speaking about this. He has a child with severe allergies according to a news article I read. One senator who is unlikely to speak about it is Sen. Manchin considering his daughter is the CEO of Mylan.

[ctmartin]

hi, everyone ...  the fact that we were in canada this summer, strolled into a pharmacy without a prescription, and walked away with two epipens at a cost of $206 makes this whole thing in the US that much more reprehensible.  while i know many get their pens through health insurance coverage, i have spent the last 9 years paying out of pocket and watching prices go up and expiration dates get shorter.  the pens from canada had an expiration date of 16 months ... unheard of here!  on our recent visit to mt. sinai, our doctor handed us a two pack like it was a reward sticker after the appt.  THAT IS AS IT SHOULD BE ... these things do not cost anything to produce!!

[my3guys]

This article was floating in my facebook feed last night:

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/mylan-execs-gave-themselves-raises-they-hiked-epipen-prices-n636591

Proxy filings show that from 2007 to 2015, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch's total compensation went from $2,453,456 to $18,931,068, a 671 percent increase. During the same period, the company raised EpiPen prices, with the average wholesale price going from $56.64 to $317.82, a 461 percent increase, according to data provided by Connecture.

Oh.my.god.

[GoingNuts]

http://www.ecowatch.com/epipen-scandal-1985272438.html

*Shuddering at the advice to keep two in the car*

[hezzier]

Mylan CEO Heather Bresch's total compensation went from $2,453,456 to $18,931,068, a 671 percent increase.

Oh.my.god.

You know because $2.4 m wasn't enough to live on...it's sickening

[Macabre]

Those were my thoughts exactly.

[hezzier]

Things I have seen this morning...Mylan increased their patient assistance coupon to $300 and Sarah Jessica Parker has apparently ended her relationship with Mylan due to the price increase...

[momma2boys]

It is definitely huge news everywhere now, which is great!

[starlight]

The sheer amount of attention...is weird, isn't it? I definitely feel it's overdue, I've felt the price raise should've been made public a long time ago, but am I the only one feeling like this? Dissonance? And that the fallout is way bigger than expected? Usually when allergy folk get attention, it comes with a pretty significant backlash toward us. Or it's only taken up by people who are allergic or have an immediate family member allergic. Now it seems like everyone's suddenly on our side (or at least fighting against the same foe).

[rebekahc]

I think the whole Martin Shkreli thing paved the way for the response we're getting.

[hezzier]

Just to show the stark contrast of pricing, today I paid $1.15 for a 10 supply of antibiotics for DS.

[candyguru]

You can also order the epi-pens from CanadaDrugs.com

" the Canadian price has remained constant for more than five years, thanks to regulation by the Patented Medicine Price Review Board, which has strict control over the prices pharmaceutical companies can charge for their products"

The Patented Medicine Price Review Board is a department of the Government of Canada:  http://pmprb-cepmb.gc.ca/home
So for those Republicans saying "universal health care" is so terrible, take note we love 'universal health care" here in Canada

================================================================================

When Darby Leigh found out she'd need to start carrying an EpiPen this summer due to a medical issue, the Florida resident was stunned by the cost.

"I couldn't afford it," said Leigh, 35. "They wanted to charge about $600 for two EpiPens and I couldn't do that. I started looking elsewhere."

Her husband, Jonathan, originally from Brampton, suggested looking north of the border for cheaper options. She was able to buy a two-pack for about a third of the cost from CanadaDrugs.com, an online pharmacy based in Winnipeg.

With the price of an EpiPen in the United States reaching unaffordable heights for many families, some Americans, like Leigh, are turning to Canada.

Mylan, the U.S. pharmaceutical company that distributes the EpiPen, announced Thursday it would lower the cost of the severe allergy treatment drug for some patients, following pressure from groups such as the American Medical Association and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

But the actual price of the product, which hit $609 per pair in May — a 400 per cent increase since 2009 — won't change. Insurers and employers that pay the bulk of the EpiPen cost for many patients will continue to do so, contributing to higher health insurance costs.

Darby Leigh of Florida, left, and her husband, Jonathan, of Brampton, purchased a pair of EpiPen injectors online from Canada due to exorbitant prices in the United States, where they live. Prices have soared to $600 for a pair south of the border, while the cost of a single injector is about $100 in Canada.

Mylan has consistently raised the price of EpiPen injectors since taking over the rights to the product in 2007, when a pair of syringes cost $93.88.

The cost of a single EpiPen in Canada is about $100, according to a spokesperson for Pfizer Canada, which distributes the drug locally.

"Canadians can rest assured that the price will not be increased like it has in the U.S.," said Manon Genin, manager of corporate affairs for the company. "There are mechanisms in place in Canada to make sure that kind of situation doesn't happen."

Genin said the Canadian price has remained constant for more than five years, thanks to regulation by the Patented Medicine Price Review Board, which has strict control over the prices pharmaceutical companies can charge for their products. In Canada, the auto-injectors can be claimed under most provincial drug benefit programs.

Mylan plans to double the number of patients eligible for its assistance program, which allows those who lack adequate incomes and insurance coverage to obtain an EpiPen for free. It will also offer a savings card to cover up to $300 of the cost of a two-pack, a boost from the $100 card it previously offered.

"We recognize the significant burden on patients from continued, rising insurance premiums and being forced increasingly to pay the full list price for medicines at the pharmacy counter," Mylan CEO Heather Bresch said in a press release. "Patients deserve increased price transparency and affordable care, particularly as the system shifts significant costs to them."

Despite Mylan's announcement, Nicole Smith, a Colorado-based advocate for allergy solutions, says it's still worth it for families like hers to purchase from Canada.

"I want the price in the United States to be reflective of the true price of manufacturing that medication," Smith said. "If Canada is selling them for $110 per EpiPen, there is no reason then that the price of a two-pack in the United States should be over $600. I'm assuming that they're still making money on it in Canada."

Smith, whose 20-year-old son Morgan has life-threatening allergies to nuts, sesame and fish, said she spent $225 U.S. to buy two EpiPens from Canada Drugs Online, a decision supported by her son's allergist.

"For families that have a budget that they have to adhere to and are concerned about the pricing in the United States right now ... I say, purchase it through Canada," she said.

Tim Smith, general manager of the Canadian International Pharmacy Association, said the more than 60 pharmacies it represents which specialize in mail-order products have seen a boost in EpiPens sold to U.S customers.

He said this trend is a result of "the outrage of people who are getting ready to go back to school and are going to buy supplies for their kids and find out the price has gone up so significantly.

"They're looking for alternate sources for the medication," he said.

Leigh is already planning to buy from Canada again when she and her husband visit his family in the Toronto area.

"If the prices don't get any better, which I don't foresee," she said, "then I would definitely go through Canada again."


https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/08/25/americans-turn-to-canada-for-cheaper-epipens.html

[Macabre]

Hey Erik!


I see that SJP has ended her connection with Mylan.  I understand why, but it makes me very sad, since she had the potential to do a lot of good for the FA community through her association.