Taking their shots
Mylan’s CEO gets earful in Congress. Now what?
Mylan CEO Heather Bresch got the dressing-down she richly deserved Wednesday from congressmen who share consumers’ disgust with the soaring price of the pharmaceutical company’s EpiPen, which now sells at more than $600 for a twopack.
“You raised the price to get filthy rich at the expense of our constituents,” Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., told Ms. Bresch, whose pay package totaled nearly $19 million last year. Rued Mr. Cummings, “After Mylan takes our punches, they’ll fly back to their mansions on their private jets and laugh all the way to the bank.”
Mr. Cummings insisted that Congress act to control the cost of prescription drugs. “This is our moment,” he said. Yes, it is. The public backlash against the cost of the EpiPen and other medications has aligned the stars for reform.
But Congress too often leaves half a job undone. It’s important to summon executives to Washington to inquire into activities adverse to the public good, otherwise the pampered, insulated fat cats might never answer any questions about their conduct at all. A day before the EpiPen hearing, senators raked Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf over the coals for a scheme that involved charging fees for additional accounts the bank created for customers without their approval. The sessions make for great sound bites. But it’s more important to follow up the inquisitions with action that shows Congress truly is in touch with, and cares about, the most vulnerable among us.
The EpiPen constituency, which includes many children, is especially vulnerable. The pen delivers an emergency, lifesaving dose of anti-allergy medicine through an auto-injector. The medicine is injected into the outer thigh, even through clothes.
Mylan has increased EpiPen’s price some 500 percent in recent years. Ms. Bresch sought to downplay the benefits to Mylan, saying the company’s profit is about $100 per two-pack. She said the company also has responded to consumer angst by expanding its prescription assistance program and working on a half-price generic.
The House Oversight Committee, which held Wednesday’s hearing, isn’t the only one inquiring into EpiPen price increases. U.S. senators are asking questions, and the West Virginia and New York attorneys general have opened investigations over antitrust concerns.
Ms. Bresch’s mother, Gayle Manchin, also has been drawn into the furor. USA Today reported last week that, while president of the National Association of State Boards of Education in 2012, she pushed states to promote purchases of anti-allergy auto-injectors by schools. In her testimony Wednesday, Ms. Bresch said it was “a cheap shot to bring my mother into this.” But it sure doesn’t look good.
As a person elected to safeguard the public interest, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., should be mortified by the whole mess. He is Ms. Bresch’s father. In news accounts, he has defended his daughter, his wife and Mylan while calling the drug pricing system “convoluted.” He has chosen to be an apologist for his family rather than an advocate for taxpayers. The voters of West Virginia should remember that.
Congress should move forward with some of the ideas that members aired Wednesday — controlling drug prices and forcing the Food and Drug Administration to speed the drug-approval process. Ms. Bresch gave no indication that Mylan will lower the price of the EpiPen, so external force will be needed to make the auto-injector more affordable. Despite what she said in defending her mother, Ms. Bresch has proved that she knows very little about cheap shots.