Epi-Pen prices are going up to between 500.00 and 600.00 dollars. Patients who have to have an epi-pen often are required to have two of them, meaning the cost has now skyrocketed to almost 1200.00 dollars. Those who are unable to pay such prices will be scrambling to try and find an alternative.
Even Martin Shkrelli thinks the prices are too high.
its almost like companies are tryna make money and shit. should be illegal. https://t.co/Cmi0K1MZAN
— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) August 18, 2016
And Bernie Sanders has weighed in on the issue. From a report by Gizmodo:
“The drug industry’s greed knows no bounds,” Sanders said. “The only explanation for Mylan raising the price by six times since 2009 is that the company values profits more than the lives of millions of Americans.”
Yes, the drug industry knows no bounds. All they’re interested in is price gouging until its almost impossible to obtain the required drugs to keep you safe, pain free or alive.
The drug maker Mylan, which has a moniker called “Seeing Is Believing” and which also manufactures the epi-pens, claimed that costs eventually have to go up because of the features and value of the product.
In an earlier emailed statement, Mylan said its prices have “changed over time to better reflect important product features and the value the product provides,” and that “we’ve made a significant investment to support the device over the past years.”
According to a financial report released last week, Mylan’s sales have gone up, thanks in part to the EpiPen.
With good insurance, and with the help of coupons, it’s possible to pay very little for an EpiPen. However, those without adequate insurance in the United States are left without many alternatives, especially in pharmacies.
“I’ve been looking at EpiPen for years,” said Ari Kresch, CEO of 1-800-LAW-FIRM. “It’s a very cheap drug but I haven’t been successful in getting any experts to tell me why the price has gone up as much as it has.”
It’s just worrying that through all of this, Shkreli is using the issue to be the voice of reason. When he calls out your company, you know you’ve screwed up.
Yes, it’s a sad day when the features of a product that hasn’t changed in years suddenly have to go up for no other reason than pure and simple GREED masked as features and value. Mylan should be bankrupted out of existence in my opinion. But, these companies are so powerful and so rich that few could even hope to take them down. One day we all know, or at least hope, that the greedy bastards manufacturers of these drugs will suffer the same fate that they forced others to endure. It eventually happens to everyone, because we all end up in the same place in the end.