Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)

Federal spending on EpiPen devices jumped 463 percent over 5 years

WASHINGTON – Federal Medicare and Medicaid payments for Mylan Pharmaceutical’s EpiPen epinephrine injector rose from roughly $86 million in 2011 to about $487 million in 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) told U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar Wednesday.

The five-year, 463 percent spending increase by the federally run health insurance programs will likely add to the uproar over Mylan’s pricing policies that have already sparked charges of price gouging and congressional hearings.

Klobuchar had asked the Department of Health and Human Services, of which CMS is a subdivision, to account for EpiPen spending. She also sought information on what CMS said was the misclassification of EpiPen as a generic rather than a brand-name product. The generic designation has enriched Mylan by allowing it to substantially reduce Medicaid rebates it paid back to the government.

http://www.startribune.com/federal-spending-on-epipen-devices-jumped-400-plus-percent-over-5-years/396081241/

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 
Rendered 03/24/2024 22:04