Sen. Chuck Grassley continues to press Mylan over EpiPen cost increases

The Gazette
By Chelsea Keenan
October 04, 2016

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley wants to know if the drug manufacturer of EpiPens overcharged states by misclassifying its product and, if it did, what steps the federal agency overseeing Medicaid did to stop it.

In letters to both Mylan and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Grassley asked for communications between the two, if civil penalties were imposed and if the Office of the Inspector General was notified.

“It’s important for companies that participate in public health care programs to follow the letter and the spirit of the law,” Grassley said in a news release. “It’s equally important for federal  agencies to make sure no companies are allowed to game the system.”

Mylan first gained attention this summer after consumers complained prices for a two pack of the epinephrine injectors had skyrocketed to more than $600. Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote to Mylan Chief Executive Officer Heather Bresch in August and held a hearing in September.

Grassley asked Mylan to provide clear accounting of what goes into the high cost and the basis for which Mylan is seeking classification of the EpiPen as a preventive drug to increase health insurance coverage of the item.

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