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Luzerne County DA assumes control of drug task force from AG’s office

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Letter to the Editor: Attorney general nominee Bruce Beemer can’t measure up to predecessor’s (low) standard

<p>Disturbingly, the biggest back-to-school expense for certain area families this season might not be new clothes or even a laptop computer, but rather the cost of a lifesaving medical gadget.</p><p>EpiPens &#8211; those thigh-jabbing devices used to treat allergic reactions to nuts and other foods, as well as bee stings &#8211; have soared in price, going from below $100 per pack in 2007 to more than $600 today. School administrators, doctors and parents rightly question whether this astronomical increase is a case of price gouging.</p><p>The product&#8217;s maker, European-based Mylan, pins people&#8217;s sticker shock partly on the rise of high-deductible health care plans, which compel consumers to pay more out of pocket. The pharmaceutical firm also issued a statement saying that many buyers don&#8217;t pay a penny for its injection pens, thanks to insurance coverage and the company&#8217;s $100 coupon.</p><p>Even so, plenty of people are drawing comparisons between Mylan and a schoolyard bully who pressures kids to hand over their lunch money.</p><p>A &#8220;Stop the EpiPen Price Gouging&#8221; online petition, intended to spur congressional action, has inspired about 41,000 people to sign on.</p><p>&#8220;There is no discernible reason for the increase,&#8221; the petition states, &#8220;other than Mylan&#8217;s desire to use their monopoly to exploit the need for this life-saving medication for exorbitant profit.&#8221;</p><p>Public schools and government institutions shell out money for the auto-injectors, each of which reportedly contains about $1 worth of epinephrine. Families sometimes purchase multiple packs, enabling them to stock the home, car and school backpacks. Plus, each EpiPen pack expires after a year, necessitating its replacement.</p><p>In recent days, The New York Times, USA Today and most other major media outlets have spotlighted the public&#8217;s EpiPen-induced backlash. Online medical site WebMD even broached the topic this week, reminding consumers of a cheaper, though less reliable, alternative.</p><p>&#8220;Then there&#8217;s the old-fashioned way: A syringe filled with the proper dose of epinephrine,&#8221; states the <a href="http://www.webmd.com/allergies/news/20160822/epipen-price-hikes-what-know" target="_blank">WebMD article</a>. &#8220;It&#8217;s not as simple as the EpiPen, but it still does the job and remains the typical method in other countries.&#8221;</p><p>Mylan&#8217;s critics most recently took aim at the company&#8217;s executive salaries, a graph of which would closely mirror the rapid rise of EpiPen prices. Its CEO&#8217;s total compensation shot from about $2.4 million in 2007 to last year&#8217;s haul of more than $18.9 million, according to an NBC News report.</p><p>The Federal Trade Commission has been asked to investigate.</p><p>For students, the EpiPen situation might turn out to be this school year&#8217;s first and most revealing lesson &#8211; a look at human behavior, economics and capitalism run amok.</p><style>
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Our Opinion: EpiPen’s soaring price leaves some buyers feeling sick