It seems like these type of stories come around a couple times a year, and the reaction to them is usually an extended outpouring of Facebook posts with everyone upset about how anyone could do this. I can't say I was any different when these stories broke. When Martin Shkreli raised the cost of a life-saving drug from $13.50 a pill to $750 a pill in 2015, people were outraged. Retrophin, which is used to treat a rare parasitic infection called toxoplasmosis, suddenly became far more inaccessible for the people who desperately needed it. Of course, when I heard of this horrible incident, I instantly shared an article on Facebook along with a couple of negative reactions towards Shkreli, the Turing Pharmaceuticals owner. But now, the story is a bit more personal.
As one of 3.6 million people prescribed an EpiPen to combat severe allergic reactions, the sudden and drastic price increase has undoubtedly got me thinking about how this affects me and others. About four or five years ago I was stung by a bee for the first time, and if I hadn't been treated with an EpiPen the consequences of one tiny bee sting could've been much deadlier. Mylan, the producer of the EpiPen, currently has a monopoly over the industry, and this is something we all need to be worried about. As described by Bustle, testing and regulations make it difficult for other companies to produce a similar product. For patients like myself that suffer from anaphylactic reactions, we are forced to pay about $600 in out-of-pocket costs. In comparison, a two pack of a substitute product cost only $100 in 2009. While this cost is calculated before the application of insurance deductions, not everyone is covered in this case.
Mylan did offer a "savings card" of around $300 dollars to EpiPen buyers, but they did not roll back the price as they had promised. As reported by Fortune, the price of the EpiPen has risen by around 500% since 2007. I would like to offer up the fact that although prices have drastically increased, most people will not end up paying full out-of-pocket cost for the device. There is, though, a giant problem still looming over the health industry.
There are currently no regulations in place on drug pricing. Since pharmaceutical companies continuously look to the market to determine their competitive pricing, it means that if we continue to avoid placing restrictions on pharmaceutical companies, the price of medications like the EpiPen or Retrophin will only increase. Over the past few days, I have seen people complaining that this just isn't fair, stating that we need to hold the health industry accountable and ensure that this will not continue to occur. I have seen these reactions from people who support legislators on both sides of the aisle, but what enrages me is that some of these people are
We are growing up in an age where the gap in wealth is becoming easily more apparent, climate change has taken its toll on our environment, and the price of college for some is becoming too much, making further education past high school fantasy. Every mistake made now by Congress will have a severe impact on my future, and the lives of my future children. I don't want to think of the harsh reality of out of control drug prices on top of already serious threats that we will face in the upcoming decades. Unfortunately for me and others, this is just another slap on the wrist by companies getting away with whatever while politicians sit idle. Now, more than ever, it is necessary that we start acting so that similar incidents of a much larger magnitude aren't created in the years to come.
