Hearing repeatedly about price increases for life-saving
medications or procedures can be exhausting – the emotional taxation of
realizing that people are at higher risk of death due to capitalism may feel
like quite the burden to undertake. And yet, conversation about the cost of
EpiPens cannot and should not cease until accessibility to the medication is
improved. News about the hiked prices for EpiPens has slowed to a trickle, but
the problem still remains, and has bigger impact than we first realized.
Today an article was released which highlighted the overall
cost of the gradual
increase to the U.S. Department of Defense. In the last year, the Pentagon
spent $57 million – over six times the amount it spent in 2008. The raised cost
is also impacting other health programs provided by the government, such as
Medicare and Medicaid. It’s true that other prescription drug prices have increased
as well over the years (such
as Sovaldi, a cure for hepatitis C, and Daraprim, an AIDS and cancer treatment),
but since 2009 the average price for the EpiPen has increased to the point
where families are resorting to filling syringes with epinephrine, rather than
buying the expensive allergy response injectors. Amie Vialet
De Montbel, a mother from Troy, Virginia, is one of many parents who has
had to switch to this practice in the case of her twelve-year-old son. EpiPens,
for those without severe allergies or who haven’t had any reason to look up
what they are, aren’t a luxury that suburban soccer moms use as accessories for
their kids who get a rash if they inhale pollen. These auto-injectors are
life-saving emergency response medications for people with life-threatening
allergies.
Many people who will go into anaphylactic shock if they come
into contact with their allergens are now unable to purchase EpiPens, and
unaware of safer alternatives. Anaphylactic shock can be as severe as swelling
of the tongue and breathing tubes, dizziness, and immediate drop in blood
pressure, and can result in something as serious as death if not treated
quickly. Mylan, the manufacturing company of EpiPens, has released an “EpiPen Savings Card” to assist
with the copay of the drug, not everyone is covered under the company’s terms
and eligibility requirements. Additionally, the offer on the card only covers a
maximum of $300 per two-pack.
All of this information has been parroted to the public over
and over again for the past month, largely because of the outrage sparked by
the price’s increase, and out of desperation for change. And yet, news about the EpiPen has become sparsely discussed in most public media. In order to help
promote change, people have been spreading information about an alternative to
the EpiPen, Adrenaclick, which is more
affordable than the EpiPen and provides the same function. We have reached a
point however where more drastic change must be heavily advocated for – people can’t
let the topic leave the spotlight until EpiPens are made affordable again.
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