Mylan's 400% price increase vs. Moral Obligation
Hello Monkeys. I’ve been following this story for quite some time now and I’m trying to make sense of both sides of the issue. It is understandable that these giant pharmaceutical companies, who create life saving drugs want to make profits. As do insurers, wholesalers, and distributers who all want there cut. They would’t be in business if they didn’t.
We are apart of this system where corporations have substantial power over determining how much the consumers pay. In some cases, where there is competition in a particular market, consumers can vote with their wallets. But with Mylan’s EpiPen, they have been forced to accept the $608 list price with lack of an alternative.
What makes the situation puzzling is when the CEO of Mylan admits publicly that:
No one’s more frustrated than me about EpiPen price
But how could she admit to being frustrated, when the facts say that her company has had the power to control these price increases? Instead she blames capitalism for the public outcry.
My question is... Should we leave it in the hands of big pharmaceutical companies to determine pricing?
When they have been known to create monopolies on particular life saving drugs, substantially raise the price, all while knowing that insurance companies won’t cover the outrageous cost.
Why does our system protect these companies instead of the families, who don’t have alternatives, and are forced paying these prices to avoid losing loved ones?
