Committee leaders voice concerns about EpiPen price increases

Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee voiced concerns on Thursday amid reports that the cost of life-saving EpiPens has increased more than 400 percent since 2008.

U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), the chairman of the committee, led efforts to make EpiPens more available for kids by championing the School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act.

The measure, which was signed into law in 2013, encourages schools to keep EpiPens and other emergency supplies of epinephrine available to children who suffer allergic reactions.

“EpiPens are a critical and often only option for saving kids from the brink of death during severe allergic reactions,” Upton said. “And the soaring costs that patients are now facing for EpiPen Auto-Injectors is cause for alarm. We have been concerned about rising costs patients are facing for some prescription drugs. We are taking a hard look at the specifics behind this and have pressed Mylan for concrete answers.”

Mylan, the manufacturer of the EpiPen, announced on Thursday that it would provide $300 in copay assistance to customers to offset rising costs.

“Our main focus is on making sure that this emergency medication is affordable and accessible where needed and we will be looking deeper into what is responsible for these price increases,” U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), the chairman of the Subcommittee of Oversight and Investigations, said.

U.S. Rep. Joseph Pitts (R-PA), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, said that people have come to rely on EpiPens and access to them is “imperative.”

“It is imperative that people are able to have access to this medicine – and that includes ensuring it is affordable for the patients that need it,” Pitts said. “We will continue to dig deeper into this issue so patients can rest easy.”