Stop the Epipen Price Gouging

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

For someone that doesn't have a dog in the fight you sure talk a lot.

If people here are going to keep posting economic "statistics" then they should be able to back them up with something quantifiable. Not just - I heard it from so-and-so. Trump has been running his whole campaign that way and it's nauseating.

Reddit's been slow and not many topics interest me here.

I agree that backing up stats is important. I'll note that even when you do it does not matter to most however.

[Save Us]

But they have been increasing for the past 2 years, so they are not at an all-time low, which is what you wrote, and what my point was.

Somehow I am not comforted.

The independent news sources on the internet are replete with statistics. I happen to like Drudge., but that's me. Generally I stay away from data produced by the government. Like the real inflation rate...

[Mindcrime]

...Let me guess, you think that pricing should be set by a central body and then people or companies with skills that are of value to you should provide good and services that you want under the pricing structure that benefits you. Amirite?

Nope, you guessed wrong.

I want a system where I pay slightly higher taxes, but pay less in the long run. I want a system where the taxes I DO pay actually go to my medical care, and not a CEO's new boat. I want the ability to negotiate pricing with companies that make drugs & medical equipment. I want a system where my ability to pay doesn't affect the care I receive. I want a system where medical bills are not the leading cause of bankruptcies.

And before you tell me "America has the best healthcare system," explain why we pay the most, yet we're ranked 37th in the world, or why our newborn babies die more often than in Bosnia.

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

Nope, you guessed wrong.

I want a system where I pay slightly higher taxes, but pay less in the long run. I want a system where the taxes I DO pay actually go to my medical care, and not a CEO's new boat. I want the ability to negotiate pricing with companies that make drugs & medical equipment. I want a system where my ability to pay doesn't affect the care I receive. I want a system where medical bills are not the leading cause of bankruptcies.

And before you tell me "America has the best healthcare system," explain why we pay the most, yet we're ranked 37th in the world, or why our newborn babies die more often than in Bosnia.

Typical empty comment. Typical.

I want a system where obese people who do nothing for their personal health pay more, much more, than those who take care of themselves. You have issue with a CEO making money on a product that his or her company takes because it does not go to your personal benefit but seem to have no issue with picking up the tab for worthless slobs. Going further, you want a system where you can have the best care available but not have to pay the cost for that.

You do have the right to negotiate with companies that make drugs and medical equipment. You just don't like losing those negotiations and when you do you want the system to be stacked in your favor because you lost.

The US does have the best healthcare available on the planet. It does not have the best system but it has the best healthcare. There is a difference between the two but fools like yourself don't even comprehend personal responsibility at all...let alone in ones medical care.

The fact is that 37% of Americans are obese and these people have kids. Guess what...Obesity effects the health of a child. But it's a lot easier for fools like yourself to blame the medical system rather than the mother for her actions.

Go compare the diet of all other places to the US. See how much sugar, or more specifically corn sugar, is consumed in those places compared to the US. See how much processed food those places eat compared to the US. Hell, see if they have as corrupt department as the FDA. This is the same FDA that says a bowl of frosted flakes is better for you than an avocado. I could go on but you won't absorb this.

Morons like yourself won't research this. You won't because it comes back to personal responsibility and that's not something you can deal with. What you want is to be coddled. You want to be taken care of because you're sad. You will just continue to use empty statistics without even bothering to look into why the numbers are the way they are.


I also noticed you did not reply to my value based pricing comments. It's OK. We both know why and your silence is just as good of an answer as confirming you don't know what you're talking about.

[buffy]

I want a system where obese people who do nothing for their personal health pay more, much more, than those who take care of themselves. You have issue with a CEO making money on a product that his or her company takes because it does not go to your personal benefit but seem to have no issue with picking up the tab for worthless slobs. Going further, you want a system where you can have the best care available but not have to pay the cost for that.

The fact is that 37% of Americans are obese and these people have kids. Guess what...Obesity effects the health of a child. But it's a lot easier for fools like yourself to blame the medical system rather than the mother for her actions.

Go compare the diet of all other places to the US. See how much sugar, or more specifically corn sugar, is consumed in those places compared to the US. See how much processed food those places eat compared to the US. Hell, see if they have as corrupt department as the FDA. This is the same FDA that says a bowl of frosted flakes is better for you than an avocado.

It's worse than that actually...
Less than 3 percent of Americans meet the basic qualifications for a “healthy lifestyle,” according to a new study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/ar...estyle/475065/

[WNYresident]

Here is what I don't like. You have NYS officials pointing out businesses like cable and gas stations screwing the consumer and make an issue with it. Here is something we plainly see is screwing the consumer with a 500% cost increase over 8 or so many years. Why don't we see Schumer soap boxes about the medical companies? Could it be they are bought off by lobbyist? Hmmmm?

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

Here is what I don't like. You have NYS officials pointing out businesses like cable and gas stations screwing the consumer and make an issue with it. Here is something we plainly see is screwing the consumer with a 500% cost increase over 8 or so many years. Why don't we see Schumer soap boxes about the medical companies? Could it be they are bought off by lobbyist? Hmmmm?

So answer me this. If a epinephrine injector (EpiPen is just a brand) is so cheap to develop and produce, and at the same time, offers such an amazing amount of profit....why is there only one company making pens that inject $1 worth of epinephrine for hundreds and hundreds of dollars?

But wait....there isn't just one company. Adrenaclick makes epinephrine injectors that you can get a 2 pack for less than $50.

Is Mylan, the company who makes EpiPens, under some law to create this product at a specific price? The answer is no. There are competitors out there with different levels of success. So people are not forced to by EpiPens.

Here is the most amusing thing. The overreaching arm of Government that many want to use to beat back these pricing provided the very same muscle needed to prevent competitors from existing and in turn lowering the price. After all, it's just $1 worth of epinephrine.

[Save Us]

So answer me this. If a epinephrine injector (EpiPen is just a brand) is so cheap to develop and produce, and at the same time, offers such an amazing amount of profit....why is there only one company making pens that inject $1 worth of epinephrine for hundreds and hundreds of dollars?

But wait....there isn't just one company. Adrenaclick makes epinephrine injectors that you can get a 2 pack for less than $50.

Is Mylan, the company who makes EpiPens, under some law to create this product at a specific price? The answer is no. There are competitors out there with different levels of success. So people are not forced to by EpiPens.

Here is the most amusing thing. The overreaching arm of Government that many want to use to beat back these pricing provided the very same muscle needed to prevent competitors from existing and in turn lowering the price. After all, it's just $1 worth of epinephrine.

I was wondering why somebody couldn't carry a small vial of epinephrine and a few syringes.

[steven]

The latest:


Aug. 22, 2016 -- The rising cost of a life-saving allergy drug dispenser is raising eyebrows at the pharmacy counter and on Capitol Hill.

The price of the EpiPen, which treats severe allergic reactions, has gone up sixfold in recent years. It can cost as much as $700 for a pack of two auto-injectors before insurance. Parents of children with food allergies in particular are up in arms, and the increase has drawn the ire of some federal lawmakers.

WebMD asked experts to explain the price increases and what those who need EpiPens can do.

Epinephrine, commonly known as adrenaline, is cheap. The dose in an auto-injector can cost as little as $1, Lanier says. It’s the mechanism that’s expensive, largely because it has to meet tough government standards for reliability. Like a parachute, “It has to work every time,” he says.

But the price of the EpiPen has gone up sharply in the past several years. In 2008, pharmacists’ cost for a two-pack of EpiPens was less than $100. As of May, it was running just over $600, according to the Elsevier Gold Standard Drug Database, which tracks U.S. wholesale drug prices. Retail prices can top $700 or more before discounts or insurance reimbursements, according to DrugRx.com, a website that compiles consumer prices.

That’s steep enough for one set. But many people find themselves having to buy several sets of auto-injectors a year to keep at schools or at relatives’ or caregivers’ homes. And the EpiPen has a 1-year expiration date, which means that becomes an annual cost.

Why did they get so expensive?

The pharmaceutical company Mylan, which bought the EpiPen from Merck in 2007, says more people are buying higher-deductible health plans, meaning they’re paying more for drugs that may have been covered before.

“With changes in the healthcare insurance landscape, an increasing number of people and families are enrolled in high-deductible health plans, and deductible amounts continue to rise,” Mylan says in a statement to WebMD. “This shift, along with other insurance landscape changes, has presented new challenges for consumers, and they are bearing more of the cost.”

There’s something to that, Lanier says. The Affordable Care Act has resulted in many new high-deductible insurance policies being sold on the Exchanges the landmark health-insurance law set up.

The advocacy group Food Allergy Research & Education points out that Medicaid, the federal health-insurance program for the poor, covers epinephrine in all 50 states. But with no serious competition, people with those high-deductible insurance plans end up paying retail price, says James Baker, MD, FARE’s chief medical officer and CEO.

Can I buy an alternative to the EpiPen?

While EpiPen is the biggest player in the market, there’s a version called Adrenaclick, which delivers the same drug with a different injector. A two-pack sells for between $140 and about $375, according to GoodRx.

Another auto-injection device, known as Auvi-Q, was pulled off the market in October 2015 after regulators found problems with it delivering an inaccurate dose of epinephrine -- or failing to inject the drug entirely. Auvi-Q’s manufacturer is expected to resubmit the device for approval, Lanier says.

Then there’s the old-fashioned way: A syringe filled with the proper dose of epinephrine. It’s not as simple as the EpiPen, but it still does the job and remains the typical method in other countries.

“It’s not a difference between a life-saving drug and nothing,” Lanier says. “They have the difference between an auto-injector and an epinephrine syringe.”

http://www.webmd.com/allergies/news/...ikes-what-know

Crib notes.
- Its the pen itself that cost so much not the actual drug. the pen is costly because of government regulations/standards for the device
- Obamacare has made the prices higher because of the high deductible insurance plans it puts people on
- there is an alternative pen that is less then half the cost
- you can just use a plain old needle and bypass the expensive auto injector like most people in the rest of the world

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

Crib notes.
- Its the pen itself that cost so much not the actual drug. the pen is costly because of government regulations/standards for the device
- Obamacare has made the prices higher because of the high deductible insurance plans it puts people on
- there is an alternative pen that is less then half the cost
- you can just use a plain old needle and bypass the expensive auto injector like most people in the rest of the world

These items conflict with each other. The pen is either expensive or cheap to produce.

[steven]

What they are saying in essence is it isn't the drug in the pen that cost the money it is the actual pen/delivery device. I am guessing the alternative company must be using a different approved delivery device but I don't no for sure.

Seems there is at least one alternatives though, and you can inject yourself with a plain old needle (like most other places in the world)..

[WNYresident]

The pharmaceutical company Mylan, which bought the EpiPen from Merck in 2007, says more people are buying higher-deductible health plans, meaning they’re paying more for drugs that may have been covered before.

“With changes in the healthcare insurance landscape, an increasing number of people and families are enrolled in high-deductible health plans, and deductible amounts continue to rise,” Mylan says in a statement to WebMD. “This shift, along with other insurance landscape changes, has presented new challenges for consumers, and they are bearing more of the cost.”

There’s something to that, Lanier says. The Affordable Care Act has resulted in many new high-deductible insurance policies being sold on the Exchanges the landmark health-insurance law set up.

The advocacy group Food Allergy Research & Education points out that Medicaid, the federal health-insurance program for the poor, covers epinephrine in all 50 states. But with no serious competition, people with those high-deductible insurance plans end up paying retail price, says James Baker, MD, FARE’s chief medical officer and CEO.

So they are blaming that insurance companies are not covering the cost but failing to mention they raised the cost for the device in the first place?

The company thinks if they raise the price as long as the insurance foots the bill it's ok?

[300miles]

It didn't read like they were blaming the insurance companies, it was simply stating that people without full coverage or high deductible plans have to pay the full price while others on Medicaid do not. The company thinks it can raise prices, simply because it can. It's a free market capitalist health system and it sucks for the people impacted by the price increase... but this is how companies make their profits. You keep looking for someone to blame, while denying that you want the govt to step in and do something about the pricing of their product. That's fine to admit that's what you want, but don't keep pretending you don't want any kind of socialized medicine, yet still want price controls when it impacts you or someone you care about.

[WNYresident]

I'm not blaming anyone.

The fact is the company rose the price. Simple as that. Using the excuse that the reason why people are directly paying more is because of the insurance companies deductible is higher is irrelevant in this case. In the end the deductible effects what people could end up paying but it is the price increase that causes the higher prices. That's all I'm saying.

[Genoobie]

I don't think there's any philosophical rule that says companies can't use their finances to lobby, buy votes, buy off inspectors, etc. That's capitalism at its finest.