Last year, when EpiPen prices soared, people became upset and outraged. But now there’s a cheaper alternative.
On Thursday, CVS announced its partnership with Impax Laboratories to sell a generic epinephrine auto-injector. A two-pack will only cost $109.99 compared to over $600 for brand name Mylan’s EpiPen two-pack or $300 as a generic.
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The lower-cost auto-injector is available nationwide today in over 9,600 pharmacies, and the $109.99 price is for those with and without insurance. Impax is also offering a coupon to reduce the cost to just $9.99 for qualifying patients.
“Over the past year, nearly 150,000 people signed on to a petition asking for a lower-cost epinephrine auto-injector option and millions more were active in social media searching for a solution,” said CVS Pharmacy president, Helena Foulkes in a statement.
Also in the statement, Dr. Todd Listwa of Novant Health, a network of healthcare providers, noted the urgency of the situation. “For these patients, having access to emergency epinephrine is a necessity. Making an affordable epinephrine auto-injector device accessible to patients will ensure patients have the medicine they need, when they need it.”
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When Mylan raised the prices of EpiPens last year, they blamed it on the complexities of the healthcare industry and middlemen. They claimed that most people don’t even pay the listed price due to insurance coverage and coupons. The issues with Mylan’s price hike only continues. Cigna, a major health insurance company said that it will no longer cover Mylan’s brand name EpiPen, only the generic.
Thanks goodness there’s a new auto-injector in town.
