Erin Fuse Brown. Image by Meg Buscema, Georgia State University.
As Mylan attempts to control bad publicity over its exponential price hike for the EpiPen, the ideal solution to price gouging would be government intervention, according to a health law expert.
“[However,] the policy solutions to price gouging by drug companies are not simple,” said Erin Fuse Brown, assistant professor of law at Georgia State University’s (GSU’s) College of Law. “In a situation like this, some options are increasing regulatory authority over drug prices, allowing the government to negotiate drug prices for Medicare, and making it easier for new competitors and generics to enter the market.”
But with the gridlock in the American political system, the most immediate, effective ways to combat high drug prices in the short term are public scrutiny and public outcry against price hikes, she said.
The price hike for the EpiPen is an example of what happens when a drug maker has a virtual monopoly on a market for a product that people need, she said. Other examples include prescription drugs for cancer and diabetes, which are needed by many amputees.
“EpiPen prices have been going up for years, but people are noticing because of the rise of high-deductible health plans, so more families are exposed to the full cost of these treatments,” Fuse Brown said. She added that Mylan’s discount cards to defray individuals’ out-of-pocket costs for the EpiPen are an inadequate response because the prices that insurance plans and pharmacies pay are not affected.
When insurance companies have to pay a higher cost for prescription drugs, that cost gets passed on to even people who don’t use that expensive medication in the form of higher premiums and high overall health spending.
This article was adapted from information provided by GSU.
