Epinephrine has been around for decades. In the ER’s it comes in simple ampules. but for home use in emergencies, it’s packaged in pre-loaded syringes. This is vital for kids with allergies to such things as peanuts, and also to people of any age allergic to bees.
“Mylan, the pharmaceutical company, acquired the decades-old product in 2007, when pharmacies paid less than $100 for a two-pen set, and has since been steadily raising the wholesale price. In 2009, a pharmacy paid $103.50 for a set. By July 2013 the price was up to $264.50, and it rose 75 percent to $461 by last May. This May the price spiked again to $608.61..” according to the NYT.
There are already 317 comments about this article. The drug companies have caused alarm for both insurers and individuals with such price gouging. It’s no wonder that we are still experiencing double digit inflation in health care costs. Health care in the USA is twice as expensive as any other developed country with no evidence of better health outcomes.
The device is readily available from Canada in the $78-130 range and it appears feasible to have it mailed. I believe that there is a sole provider so the item is identical to the US product.
Thanks. There’s a lot of chatter about this on the internet. Also, a number of other drugs are much cheaper in Canada – same drug, different zip code. I used to have patients drive up to Vancouver to fill their meds. There were even some organized bus tours where the patient would bring a note from the USA doc, hand it to the intermediary Canadian doc, and a new prescription filled in Canada and brought back home. Mailing should work especially for non-prescription meds. Here’s a note from one Mom: http://peanutsurvival.blogspot.com/2014/08/i-purchased-affordable-epipen-in-canada.html
It’s no wonder, indeed. Truly disgraceful.