Tag Archives: EpiPen

Candidates Decry High Drug Prices, But They Have Few Options For Voters

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http://khn.org/news/candidates-decry-high-drug-prices-but-they-have-few-options-for-voters/?utm_campaign=KHN%3A+Daily+Health+Policy+Report&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=34504530&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8jV9oGDFPhUY7AIC7h75jL1KC5hMbGnVXQiBbMw7S-o8a9cNbtaq7e7EyhVHZrYWAX2-Oix7Ha5jcF9E7NZ2gAl0hFHg&_hsmi=34504530

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In this year’s presidential campaign, health care has taken a back seat. But one issue appears to be breaking through: the rising cost of prescription drugs.

The blockbuster drugs to treat hepatitis C as well as dramatic price increases on older drugs, most recently the EpiPen allergy treatment, have combined to put the issue back on the front burner.

Democrat Hillary Clinton just issued a lengthy proposal to address what her campaign calls “unjustified price hikes for long-available drugs.” That’s in addition to a broader proposal to address high drug prices the campaign put out last fall.

Republican Donald Trump, meanwhile, has said little about health care since announcing his candidacy in 2015, but he has several times called for a change in law to allowMedicare to negotiate drug prices for the population it serves.

Here are five reasons why this issue is back — and why it is so difficult to solve.

A timeline of eye-popping drug prices

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/08/25/timeline-eye-popping-drug-prices/89335852/

Image result for epipen

The firestorm over steep price increases for the EpiPen — which can rescue people having life-threatening allergic reactions  — is just the latest in a long line of controversies over high prescription drug prices. A decade ago, much of the concern over prescription drug prices involved new high-tech cancer drugs, used by only a few thousand patients a year. In recent years, the prices for decades-old generic drugs have soared, as well, as pharmaceutical companies purchase the rights for drugs with no competition.

Here’s a recap of some of the most eye-popping prices.

EpiPen Manufacturer Says It Will Help With Out-Of-Pocket Costs

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http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/08/24/491232665/latest-target-in-the-drug-price-wars-the-ubiquitous-epipen?utm_campaign=KHN%3A+Daily+Health+Policy+Report&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=33405785&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8XZii4uOFohPHJzQb2tGya0B1V39hwW9G6vwptGGc5BvcM-YWZemfyDF8k4814h6RX0C21PHgcZ9Nz_LIAH_zmJW4gCw&_hsmi=33405785

The wholesale price of a single pen was about $47 in 2007, and it rose to $284 this summer, according to Richard Evans, a health care analyst at SSR. But consumers can no longer buy a single pen, so the retail price to fill a prescription today at Walgreens is about $633, according to GoodRX.

It’s the latest in a string of controversies over rising drug prices that have caught the attention of lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

The drug’s manufacturer, Mylan NV, responded to the criticism Thursday, announcing it will offer customers whose insurance doesn’t pay the full cost coupons for up to $300 off the injectors. But it’s unclear if that will be enough to tamp down the anger.

At least three senators have called for investigations into the price of the EpiPen, and Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., have sent letters to Mylan demanding an explanation for the increase.