As we begin another school year, there are certain things on every college students checklist; pillows, towels, toiletries, the usual. College students who have life threatening allergies have an extra item on their lists: epipens. Epipens are pre filled autoinjectors that deliver a life saving dose of epinephrine in the event of anaphylaxis.
My insurance covers one epipen 2 pack a year, so if I use one I have to pay out of pocket for a replacement. When these autoinjectors were around $60 it wasn't that big of a deal to replace them. Now the cheapest you can find an epipen 2 pack (they are not sold as a single unit) is $614. Six hundred fourteen dollars, out of pocket, should I need to use and replace an epipen. Like most college students, I cannot afford to pay $614 for a prescription, and as such I am way less likely to use my epipen in an emergency which could very well result in my death.
Without swift administration of epinephrine, the smallest slip up could cost me my life. I am allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, it only takes 1 microgram of dust from either of them to trigger a life threatening reaction. Such a minuscule amount is invisible to the naked eye so it is imperative that I keep at least one epipen on me at all times.
This price hike could very well cost people their lives. Lives that could be saved by a drug that only takes a few dollars to produce. Way too go Mylan, any deaths that could have been prevented by an epipen are now on your hands because YOU made them inaccessible to vulnerable people. I hope you're proud of yourselves.
