audreyh1
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So, not only did Mylan significantly raise the price for their EpiPen product, but apparently they also arranged rebates with Pharmacy Benefit Managers that effectively kept competing cheaper products from succeeding in the market.
Hmmmm - these are the rats I've been smelling. Arrangements between drug companies and the pharmacy infrastructure, so the insurance companies and customers without insurance are left paying the high prices.
I remember with MILs chemo, that they had supposedly "independent" foundations to help Medicare customers cover the co-pay on the outrageously priced new cancer drugs. Meanwhile Medicare (us) is stuck paying 80% on the full retail outrageous price. This arrangement should not have been legal, but companies had figured out how to arrange these "independent foundations" so that in practice it worked to their advantage.
I suspect lots of these types of "games" are going on with US increasing health care costs.
Hmmmm - these are the rats I've been smelling. Arrangements between drug companies and the pharmacy infrastructure, so the insurance companies and customers without insurance are left paying the high prices.
Mylan hit with new class action lawsuit over EpiPen pricing | ReutersThe lawsuit was filed on Monday in Tacoma, Washington, federal court by three EpiPen purchasers. It claims Mylan engaged in a scheme with pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs - companies that act as intermediaries between pharmacies, insurers and drug companies - to dominate the market and overcharge consumers.
Although other lawsuits have been filed over EpiPen pricing, Monday's is the first to focus on the role of PBMs and to bring claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a federal law historically used against organized crime.
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The plaintiffs in Monday's lawsuit say Mylan paid large rebates to PBMs so they would favor EpiPen over competitors. In helping Mylan control 95 percent of the epinephrine auto-injector market, the rebates artificially inflated EpiPen's sticker price, resulting in higher costs for many patients, the suit said.
The lawsuit says the three largest U.S. pharmacy benefits managers - CVS Caremark, part of CVS Health (CVS.N); Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX.O) and OptumRX, part of UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH.N) - aided Mylan's alleged scheme. They were not named as defendants.
Mylan lawsuit over EpiPen - Business InsiderThe plaintiffs in Monday's lawsuit say Mylan paid large rebates to PBMs so they would favor EpiPen over competitors. In helping Mylan control 95 percent of the epinephrine auto-injector market, the rebates artificially inflated EpiPen's sticker price, resulting in higher costs for many patients, the suit said.
The lawsuit says the three largest U.S. pharmacy benefits managers - CVS Caremark, part of CVS Health; Express Scripts Holding Co and OptumRX, part of UnitedHealth Group Inc - aided Mylan's alleged scheme. PBMs may later be added as defendants on the lawsuit, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Pharmacy benefit managers are the companies responsible for negotiating rebates to the prices drugmakers set, and are meant to favor the most effective drug. This is meant to help keep prices low. Many question how effective they are at doing that, however and some have said they could be part of the reason why prices are skyrocketing.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages to represent a nationwide class of EpiPen purchasers.
Mylan hit with racketeering suit over big price hikes of EpiPenThe suit says Mylan only disclosed that its price increases for EpiPen were due to the rebate payments to the PBMs last summer, after outrage exploded over the fact that a two-pack of the auto-injector devices was selling for more than $600.
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The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle, noted that when EpiPen prices were increasing most dramatically, some other companies tried to introduce competing devices.
But those companies never succeeded in displacing the market dominance of EpiPen because they did not pay the same level of rebates that Mylan was paying the pharmacy benefit managers, the suit said.
I remember with MILs chemo, that they had supposedly "independent" foundations to help Medicare customers cover the co-pay on the outrageously priced new cancer drugs. Meanwhile Medicare (us) is stuck paying 80% on the full retail outrageous price. This arrangement should not have been legal, but companies had figured out how to arrange these "independent foundations" so that in practice it worked to their advantage.
I suspect lots of these types of "games" are going on with US increasing health care costs.