BY AMAYA BROCKINGTON, Freshman
BLYTHEWOOD-- An abrupt increase in the price of an Epipen has triggered outrageous concerns for many people in the United States.
BLYTHEWOOD-- An abrupt increase in the price of an Epipen has triggered outrageous concerns for many people in the United States.
Epipens are life-saving injection devices for people with severe allergies or allergic reactions. Those who were to have an allergic reaction to something would simply take the Epipen and inject it into their thigh. It then releases epinephrine which decreases the swelling which saves their life.
The prices have been steadily rising through the years, but just recently it rose to over $600 for one. Mylan, the pharmaceutical company is responsible for the Epipen price hikes and it has no regrets regarding this controversial decision.
This skyrocketing price affects people who are in need of an Epipen, but especially parents. Many children all of the United States rely on this life-saving product to treat their severe allergic reactions.
Fourteen year old freshman Jaden Schutt, depends on the Epipens to treat her allergic reaction to red ants and an unrecognizable allergy that the doctors can not figure out. She always carries one with her just in case she were to have a reaction and has only used it once in the past.
She has been carrying an expired Epipen around for the past few months due to the skyrocketing new price.
“Buying a new one would be a financial issue because you always have to refill the Epipen because overtime they become expired. When that happens you would have to buy a new one and that won't happen because my parents can’t spend that much money on that,” Schutt said.
Her parents do not plan on buying her one anytime soon and neither do the parents of 14 year old Caia-Roberts Jones. She is allergic to tree nuts, shellfish, and the skin of apples.
“I do not use my Epipen often because I am very cautious of what I eat. Buying a new one would be a financial issue because that is a very large amount of money. My thoughts on the new price of the Epipens are pretty much like any other reasonable person. The price is a bit much even though it’s used in a life or death situation. I do not plan on buying one anytime soon because I simply do not have $600 dollars laying around in my house,” Jones said.
A petition with over 48,000 signatures has been given to Congress, protesting the price increase called, “Stop the Epipen Price Gouging.” It has emerged across multiple social media sites. This issue was even brought to Congress, Mylan's CEO tells Congress the EpiPen price hike was fair .
“I know there is considerable concern and skepticism about the pricing,” she told the panel. “I think many people incorrectly assume we make $600 off each EpiPen. This is simply not true”, CEO of Mylan said.
Elijah Cumming, a (Maryland Democrat) doesn't believe this for a second. He responded to her testimony, saying he was “not impressed” and believes it’s wrong to get “filthy rich” by utilizing the company’s monopoly on the market.
We can only hope that the prices of this life-saving injection device will decrease.
Unfortunately to this day the CEO of Mylan refuses to apologize for the Epipens price hikes and adjust the cost.
