(C) Colorado Newsline
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Colorado bill to cap copay of EpiPens advances with unanimous committee vote [1]
['Sara Wilson', 'More From Author', '- February']
Date: 2023-02
A bill to cap the cost of epinephrine auto-injectors for people with severe food allergies passed through a House committee in the Colorado Legislature on Friday, and lawmakers say it has the potential to save people thousands of dollars a year.
House Bill 23-1002 would limit the copay for epinephrine auto-injectors, often known as EpiPens, at $60 for a two pack and create an affordability program for uninsured people. The manufacturer may be in charge of reimbursing the pharmacy the difference between the copay and wholesale cost.
“This will save Coloradans on life-saving medication and make it more accessible for Coloradans to have these devices on hand, regardless of income. We should not have to choose between paying rent and accessing life-saving medication,” bill sponsor Rep. Javier Mabrey, a Denver Democrat, told reporters on Friday, a few hours before the bill passed through the House Health and Insurance Committee with unanimous approval.
It is also sponsored by Rep. Iman Jodeh, an Aurora Democrat, and Sen. Dylan Roberts, an Avon Democrat.
EpiPens dispense epinephrine, which treats symptoms of severe allergic reactions and anaphylaxis, such as swollen airways and rapidly dropping blood pressure. People with severe allergies often carry EpiPens with them in case of an emergency.
The bill is in response to a sharp increase to the retail cost of EpiPens as one company, Mylan, has a near-monopoly on the product. The average cost for a two-pack last summer was north of $600 without insurance.
“If you are a social worker, it will take you 25 hours of work to afford this medication. If you are a teacher, 23 hours. A nursing assistant, 40 hours — a full week of work,” Jodeh said. “You can understand why the working class are having a very hard time not only affording the medication but having the need to ration their medication.”
What a great cash cow of annuity for a business. The ridiculously high cost of EpiPens is an extortion of those of us that are stuck in the loop of buying these injectors year after year. – Keri Pugh
And insurance only covers so much of the cost, which adds up as people with allergies need to replace them yearly after expiration and parents of children with allergies need to make sure their child’s school has an adequate supply.
Keri Pugh said her family has spent upwards of $15,000 since her two children, who are 14 and 10 years old and severely allergic to peanuts, were born.
“What a great cash cow of annuity for a business. The ridiculously high cost of EpiPens is an extortion of those of us that are stuck in the loop of buying these injectors year after year,” she said.
Colorado has passed similar legislation regarding insulin affordability: a 2019 law that caps copays at $100 and a 2021 law that created the insulin affordability program for uninsured people.
People in opposition to the bill argued that the lower copay could have the unintended consequence of increasing insurance premiums for everyone across the state.
“Every year, there are numerous bills to incrementally increase the cost of insurance to protect a particular slice of the population. And while none of these separately increases the cost of insurance, over the course of 20 years, we have watched as each mandate and protection is put in to place, the cost of insurance is growing,” Patrick Boyle with the Colorado Competitive Council told the committee.
Opposers also argued that the bill only masks the fundamental high pharmaceutical costs.
Mabrey said that the concern over premiums is unfounded, using the enacted insulin copay cap as an example.
“There has been no evidence that the copay cap on insulin has led to an increase in premiums for Coloradans,” he said. “More people access insulin more often, so the scope of this is smaller.”
The bill now heads to the House Appropriations Committee.
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[1] Url:
https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/colorado-bill-to-cap-copay-of-epipens-advances-with-unanimous-committee-vote/
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