PRICE HIKE NUTS!
‘EpiPen gouge an outrage’
Samantha Marino and husband Tom have a 4-year-old son, Ben (right), who has a severe nut allergy, and are forced pay more than $400 — after insurance — for each of the boy’s EpiPen refills. Here Samantha explains why she believes the drug maker Mylan is in the wrong for hiking the medical device’s price in recent years.
JUST what exactly does an EpiPen mean to my family? It’s what could someday save my child’s life — and that’s the plain and simple truth.
So when I hear how manufacturer Mylan sent the price of a standard two-pack of the allergy treatment soaring from $100 in 2007 to as much as $600 today, it makes me sick.
To price-gouge a lifesaving medication is cruel — and the company is ultimately taking advantage of innocent families.
What’s even worse is the fact that they are hiking the cost of something that takes just several dollars to make. It’s pure greed!
While I understand that you’re running a business, it’s at the cost of innocent children who rely on this medication to possibly save their lives!
These people have no idea what frustration means.
Has this company even given thought to those that can’t afford this? I don’t think they have any care for anyone needing this, and that’s sad. Right now, there is no competition. Perhaps they will care when there is?
My son has a severe lifethreatening peanut allergy. We found out when he was 2 after he bit into a peanut-butter cookie. Thankfully, his symptoms were mild at that time, and no emergency action was needed. But according to his blood test, he showed signs for a severe reaction known as anaphylaxis, which means he can’t eat any food containing peanuts. That scares the heck out of my husband and me.
We have three EpiPen Jr 2Paks, because you never know when one might be needed. One is kept at home, one never leaves my pocketbook, and one remains at school. You need to have one readily available at all times.
Earlier this year, before meeting our high deductible, we paid out of pocket $1,260 — each pack cost $428 — for three EpiPens that will expire in February 2017. And that was before this excessive price increase.
My husband had an emergency-room visit a couple of months ago, and one of our thoughts was that we’d meet our deductible — which would mean we could get new refills at a lower cost.
You shouldn’t have to think like that to get a lifesaving medication for your child.
What’s even scarier is the fact that this price hike is coming at a time when food allergies are increasing in the United States — and no one knows why.
These people need to realize that they are taking advantage of a real health situation going on in this country — and that the only medication to save a life is costing families untold hardships.