Dear Future President,

The Epinephrine Auto-Injector, more commonly known as the epipen, helps millions of people in the United States who are affected by severe allergies. As many as 3.6 million Americans were prescribed an epipen in 2015, according to Bustle. The epipen was first introduced in the 1980s, and is used as an emergency treatment for serious allergic reactions. The price of this life-saving device has unfortunately skyrocketed in the recent years due to the greedy company, Mylan.

Mylan has continually increased the price of the epipen, starting in 2009. At that time, the price of two epipens was about 100 dollars. According to USA Today, the price has now jumped to over 600 dollars. This is especially detrimental to those without insurance, who have to pay full price for the device. Families with children who have allergies need to have a set of epipens at home and at school. Additionally, epipens expire after a year, so they are required to buy it annually. As a result, the price stacks up and it is troublesome for many families who must pay so much money for a product that only cost the company 35 dollars to make. Worse, there is no alternative company or brand to buy from. Since the epipen is a must-own, life-saving device for millions of people, it is absolutely unjustified and immoral for Mylan to be raising the price of the epipen for what seems to be their own profit.

Since receiving criticism from countless Americans, Mylan has stated that they will reduce the price of two epipens to 300 dollars, but that is still a ridiculously high price. Furthermore, Business Insider states that this discount will not even apply for people on government insurance programs or people without insurance. This adds even more evidence to the idea that Mylan is exploiting those who are need of most help. Also, people with allergies need more than just two epipens, especially children who are in school. They need multiple epipens stored in different places in the event of an emergency.

I have been affected by the rising costs of epipens because I, along with many other people, suffer from allergies to peanuts. I have had to use an epipen in the past, so I know firsthand how important it is to those with allergies. It angers me to see that people are forced to pay so much money for a product that is necessary for them to survive in the case of an emergency.

The U.S. government has made life-saving medications widely available, but has not made any attempts to control the costs. The recent case involving the price of the epipen highlights one of many issues with our government and economy. Companies like Mylan are able to single-handedly control the price of a life-saving product for their own gain, with virtually no regulation. They should not be able to profit from this situation, especially with the health of countless people in their hands. I hope that you can help millions of Americans by lowering the price of epipens to make them more affordable.

Sincerely,

Eric H.