Jonathan Wilhoite Blog: Parents Challenge Epipen Prices And Got Response For Action

Friday, August 26, 2016

Parents Challenge Epipen Prices And Got Response For Action

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Parents challenge epipen prices and received a fairly good initial result as it led to mounting pressure for a pharmaceutical company to issue discount coupons that would offset prices.

Parents challenge epipen prices through online petition

Prices of EpiPen – a leading brand of epinephrine injector formula that reverses the effects of allergic reactions – has reached a jaw-dropping price hike of more than 500 percent in a matter of years.

This started a clamor among consumers who claimed that this life-saving medicine that fights allergic reactions has been getting the ire of a lot of people, prompting some concerned citizens to petition the US Congress to get on top of the situation.

The petition ‘Stop the EpiPen Price Gouging’ was created by Brooklyn actress Mellini Kantayya started off as a concern that was welling-up, when raising concerns about rising prices for EpiPen.

Kantayya’s husband is suffering from allergic conditons and shared the sentiments with her friends and colleagues, who also echoed back her sentiments including inadequate health insurance coverage for this treatment.

Mounting pressure

Kantayya started the campaign by using an online petition service called Petition2Congress.com that collects signatures and addresses these to the respective congressional representatives.

In the next 45 days, supporters fanned the flames that Kantayya started and were able to generate more than 80,000 signatures and flooded Congress with more than 120,000 letters expressing their sentiments.

In an apparent answer to the swelling public clamour, including representations from high profile political personalities like Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, the pharmaceutical company Mylan that manufactures EpiPen decided to announce that it will issue coupons and extend patient assistance programs to help alleviate patients.

The announcement was made by Mylan CEO Heather Bresch.

Reason for hikes may be due to rising demand

The apparent reason behind the staggering price hikes may have been the rising demand for EpiPen, for which prices were first increased by no more than 10 percent very year, then by 15 percent increments years after.

From there it may have started to take off, until it reached several folds and would cost no less than $400 for a standard box containing two units.

Which also came as a surprise to Sanders, who asked why the medicines cost so much when the company could only produce it for a few dollars.

But several groups claim they will continue to push for more campaigns to drive the company to push Mylan to lower retail prices down.

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from NUTRITION CLUB CANADA http://nutritionclub.ca/parents-challenge-epipen-prices/amp/