by Connie Kim
When I first met President Foster, I was in a group lecture and he asked us to introduce ourselves with our name, major and one interesting fact about ourselves.
When it was my turn, I stood up, followed protocol, and then ended with “mayonnaise almost killed me”. The entire room broke out in laughter, and everyone demanded for an explanation.
I shared the story that I ordered take out sushi one night, not knowing that there was mayonnaise in it. Of course, when I made the order I made it very clear that I did not want mayonnaise in it, but it happens. I got up for a midnight snack, grabbed a bite of my leftover sushi dinner and went immediately to bed.
Next thing I knew, my airway was completely swollen, and I was chocking in my pajamas. I reached over into the drawer of my night stand, grabbed my EpiPen, and administered myself a full dose into the side of my thigh. If it wasn’t for that pen, I can honestly say that I may not have been here to write this article today. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t speak, I was alone in my bedroom at 3:00 AM. I thank the EpiPen Gods every now and then for saving my life.
As we went around the room, I noticed that several other people started pointing out their allergies as their introductory fun fact. And sure, maybe getting itchy eyes when coming in contact with cat fur isn’t exactly the same as going into anaphylactic shock, but it made me realize how common this was.
In fact, according to a recent article from Medical News Today, there is a steady increase in development of serious and moderate allergic reactions in newborns. Along with that statistic, people have also been noticing that there is a dramatic increase in prices for EpiPens.
EpiPens, a branded name for an epinephrine auto injector, is a handheld pen filled with a preset dose, that is administered into the vastus lateralis muscle of the thigh with a one inch needle injection in an event of an emergency anaphylaxis. The medication reverses any serious reaction, such as the breakout of hives, swelling and the closing of the airways.
Children and adults allergic to bee stings, peanuts, or in my case, mayo have had their lives spared by this medical contraption.
Now the pharmaceutical company that manufactures the product, Mylan, has suddenly hiked their prices up to nearly 700% of what they were selling it for initially. In 2008, a pack of two EpiPens could be bought for less than a hundred dollars. Now, the company is charging nearly $600 per pen.
Upon the immediate media attention and complaints from consumers, the company decides to counter the price hike by offering a generic option- for $300. When that didn’t do much, the company offered another supposed deal: a $100 off coupon.
Like many others, I feel that this is completely ridiculous. The company, for some unknown reason, has chosen to take advantage of their consumer’s needs for a commonly carried life-saving product that they have been manufacturing for years.
With this unacceptable price hike, consumers with no insurance policy or those with insurance companies that leave them with a high deductible may have no choice but to not purchase epinephrine pens at all. I mean, even with the $100 coupon and generic brand, $200 is a lot to be paying for something that used to be half that price. No amount of antihistamine tablets would do efficient reversal of a serious allergic reaction as the epinephrine injection does.
What is the reason for this massive price increase anyway? Has the company suddenly decided to become environmentally cautious and hike the price to decrease the use of plastic that makes up the pens? Or did a whole bunch of pharmacists who work for the brand go on strike so they have to make up for the pay wage gap? So far, it doesn’t look like there’s been a legitimate reason for the price rip-off. Many people are outraged, and they have complete right reason to be.
But if I gave them the benefit of the doubt, they could also pose the question; “how much is your life worth? Would you not be willing to pay the price to potentially prevent an unfortunate casualty?” As cruel as this may come across, they would have a point.
Almost everything in the world is a business, and that’s exactly what this, as well as many other pharmaceutical companies are- a business.
Like I stated earlier, occurrences of allergies in newborns are on the rise. And any business major knows that with high demands, there are high profits what come along with it. Companies could easily ask you this: so what if we raise the price? Would you really risk yourself – or even better, your child – who suffers from a severe bee sting allergy to be without an Epipen? Would you really be willing to potentially let that happen? It’s all a cruel mind game that toys with our needs and options.
What am I going to do about the whole situation? Well, the funny thing is, the sushi incident EpiPen was actually my last one. I haven’t gone back to get new ones since it happened (give me a break I’m a college student, I had “other priorities”… you know what I mean). And I’m definitely not getting new ones now with those prices!
Is this a dumb decision? Yes, it probably is. And who knows, maybe I’ll have to bite the bullet and drop half a grand along with my soul and my first child to get new ones. But for the time being, I’ve just been playing it extra safe.
Rather than just asking for no mayo, I’ve started to break apart the foods (like sandwiches and sushi) to visually see if there is any in there. I also ask my friends to take the first piece or the first bite, and they let me know if they can taste it in there or not. It’s been a year and I’m still alive.
Now I do not by any means recommend doing what I’m doing, but with this financial situation, the struggle is real. I’m just your average college gal, and I’ve done some pretty desperate things, especially when it came to money and spending. This is just one of the many things that I’ve done out of desperation.
But hey, if this is what lead me to somewhat boycott the EpiPen, then who’s to say that anyone else isn’t doing the same thing?
