Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida, the youngest member of Congress, has a plan to stem the decades of Big Pharma’s price-gouging. On Thursday, Frost and fellow Democratic Rep. Doris Matsui of California introduced the “EPIPEN Act,” which would cap the out-of-pocket price for a two-pack of the life-saving epinephrine injector at $60 for those with private health insurance.
The medication, commonly known under the trade name EpiPen, is primarily used to treat anaphylaxis, a severe and possibly fatal allergic reaction. And its costs skyrocketed from $100 in 2009 to over $600 in 2016, under the ownership of pharmaceutical company Mylan. With a shelf life of 12 to 18 months, those costs add up for people and organizations who depend on them as a life-saving medical intervention.
The bill, whose full title is the “Epinephrine’s Pharma Inflated Price Ends Now Act,” would impose a cost-sharing requirement of no more than $60 for any group health plan or for any insurer offering group or individual insurance coverage. Frost described the intentions of the bill in a press release, saying, “As someone who has suffered a life-threatening allergic reaction, I know first-hand just how critical it is to have access to an EpiPen or an auto-injector when your body needs it most. But right now, we have a problem in America where people who need EpiPens aren't carrying them simply because of the cost.”
The history of Mylan’s monopolistic capture of the market and subsequent price-gouging scheming came to a head in 2016, when then-CEO Heather Bresch testified before Congress. Bresch, who happens to be the daughter of Sen. Joe Manchin, gave factually incorrect testimony about everything from the amount of money the company spent on “upgrading” the injector device to the profits the company gouged out of EpiPen sales. Shocking nobody, Open Secrets reported that “Mylan was one of the largest campaign contributors to Manchin’s campaigns in five election cycles.”
Reports have also uncovered that Mylan and Bresch colluded with Pfizer to turn the EpiPen into a cooperative monopoly. After this, Mylan not only shot up EpiPen costs but also forced the device to be bought in packages of two, instead of individually—further increasing Big Pharma’s profits and the out-of-pocket costs for regular people.
In 2012, when Gayle Manchin (Bresch’s mother and Joe’s wife) became the head of the National Association of State Boards of Education, “she spearheaded an unprecedented effort that encouraged states to require schools to purchase medical devices that fight life-threatening allergic reactions,” according to USA Today. Her work resulted in:
In 2019, Mylan officially merged with Upjohn, a division of Pfizer, and became the new company Viatris. Bresch stepped down,” after the merger but reportedly collected over $30 million dollars on her way out.
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The history of Mylan’s monopolistic capture of the market and subsequent price-gouging scheming came to a head in 2016, when then-CEO Heather Bresch testified before Congress. Bresch, who happens to be the daughter of Sen. Joe Manchin, gave factually incorrect testimony about everything from the amount of money the company spent on “upgrading” the injector device to the profits the company gouged out of EpiPen sales. Shocking nobody, Open Secrets reported that “Mylan was one of the largest campaign contributors to Manchin’s campaigns in five election cycles.”
Reports have also uncovered that Mylan and Bresch colluded with Pfizer to turn the EpiPen into a cooperative monopoly. After this, Mylan not only shot up EpiPen costs but also forced the device to be bought in packages of two, instead of individually—further increasing Big Pharma’s profits and the out-of-pocket costs for regular people.
In 2012, when Gayle Manchin (Bresch’s mother and Joe’s wife) became the head of the National Association of State Boards of Education, “she spearheaded an unprecedented effort that encouraged states to require schools to purchase medical devices that fight life-threatening allergic reactions,” according to USA Today. Her work resulted in:
In 2019, Mylan officially merged with Upjohn, a division of Pfizer, and became the new company Viatris. Bresch stepped down,” after the merger but reportedly collected over $30 million dollars on her way out.
Campaign Action
The medication, commonly known under the trade name EpiPen, is primarily used to treat anaphylaxis, a severe and possibly fatal allergic reaction. And its costs skyrocketed from $100 in 2009 to over $600 in 2016, under the ownership of pharmaceutical company Mylan. With a shelf life of 12 to 18 months, those costs add up for people and organizations who depend on them as a life-saving medical intervention.
The bill, whose full title is the “Epinephrine’s Pharma Inflated Price Ends Now Act,” would impose a cost-sharing requirement of no more than $60 for any group health plan or for any insurer offering group or individual insurance coverage. Frost described the intentions of the bill in a press release, saying, “As someone who has suffered a life-threatening allergic reaction, I know first-hand just how critical it is to have access to an EpiPen or an auto-injector when your body needs it most. But right now, we have a problem in America where people who need EpiPens aren't carrying them simply because of the cost.”
The history of Mylan’s monopolistic capture of the market and subsequent price-gouging scheming came to a head in 2016, when then-CEO Heather Bresch testified before Congress. Bresch, who happens to be the daughter of Sen. Joe Manchin, gave factually incorrect testimony about everything from the amount of money the company spent on “upgrading” the injector device to the profits the company gouged out of EpiPen sales. Shocking nobody, Open Secrets reported that “Mylan was one of the largest campaign contributors to Manchin’s campaigns in five election cycles.”
Reports have also uncovered that Mylan and Bresch colluded with Pfizer to turn the EpiPen into a cooperative monopoly. After this, Mylan not only shot up EpiPen costs but also forced the device to be bought in packages of two, instead of individually—further increasing Big Pharma’s profits and the out-of-pocket costs for regular people.
In 2012, when Gayle Manchin (Bresch’s mother and Joe’s wife) became the head of the National Association of State Boards of Education, “she spearheaded an unprecedented effort that encouraged states to require schools to purchase medical devices that fight life-threatening allergic reactions,” according to USA Today. Her work resulted in:
In 2019, Mylan officially merged with Upjohn, a division of Pfizer, and became the new company Viatris. Bresch stepped down,” after the merger but reportedly collected over $30 million dollars on her way out.
Campaign Action
The history of Mylan’s monopolistic capture of the market and subsequent price-gouging scheming came to a head in 2016, when then-CEO Heather Bresch testified before Congress. Bresch, who happens to be the daughter of Sen. Joe Manchin, gave factually incorrect testimony about everything from the amount of money the company spent on “upgrading” the injector device to the profits the company gouged out of EpiPen sales. Shocking nobody, Open Secrets reported that “Mylan was one of the largest campaign contributors to Manchin’s campaigns in five election cycles.”
Reports have also uncovered that Mylan and Bresch colluded with Pfizer to turn the EpiPen into a cooperative monopoly. After this, Mylan not only shot up EpiPen costs but also forced the device to be bought in packages of two, instead of individually—further increasing Big Pharma’s profits and the out-of-pocket costs for regular people.
In 2012, when Gayle Manchin (Bresch’s mother and Joe’s wife) became the head of the National Association of State Boards of Education, “she spearheaded an unprecedented effort that encouraged states to require schools to purchase medical devices that fight life-threatening allergic reactions,” according to USA Today. Her work resulted in:
In 2019, Mylan officially merged with Upjohn, a division of Pfizer, and became the new company Viatris. Bresch stepped down,” after the merger but reportedly collected over $30 million dollars on her way out.
Campaign Action