Looking through my phone, I stumbled upon a headline from CNN that immediately caught my attention: “Cost of life-saving EpiPens up over 400%.” When I first read the title, the image of one of my friends rushed to my mind. This friend has an extensive list of severe allergies, requiring her to own and carry multiple EpiPens everywhere she goes. Additionally, I had lived through situations where individuals began to present redness on their skin, cough, and shortness of breath, which could have escalated to anaphylactic shock. These personal experiences and my interest in the medical field have allowed me to understand more about life-threatening allergies. However, I had never considered the monetary aspect of the lifesaving product. Due to my lack of knowledge, I decided to
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Consumers of pharmaceuticals are affected by a number of factors that can alter and dictated their cost. The EpiPen increased its price by about $500 from the year 2007 to 2016, without the price being influenced by shortages or inflation (Babcock). The change that occurred was not justified by advancements because the exact same components that were being sold in 2007, were in the 2016 product. This presents inconsistencies and speculation. What could cause the rising cost to consumers, if it was not innovation, inflation, or scarcity? Additionally, I discovered similar situations in the industry: “[T]he price of health care has been rising with no discernible ceiling… the price for receiving care has risen much faster than the cost of providing it” (Babcock). This makes room for more questioning about the price of products in the health industry and the regulations enforced to protect the consumer. In this article, I found turbulence in the pricing of both tangible items and care services. Before
Consumers of pharmaceuticals are affected by a number of factors that can alter and dictated their cost. The EpiPen increased its price by about $500 from the year 2007 to 2016, without the price being influenced by shortages or inflation (Babcock). The change that occurred was not justified by advancements because the exact same components that were being sold in 2007, were in the 2016 product. This presents inconsistencies and speculation. What could cause the rising cost to consumers, if it was not innovation, inflation, or scarcity? Additionally, I discovered similar situations in the industry: “[T]he price of health care has been rising with no discernible ceiling… the price for receiving care has risen much faster than the cost of providing it” (Babcock). This makes room for more questioning about the price of products in the health industry and the regulations enforced to protect the consumer. In this article, I found turbulence in the pricing of both tangible items and care services. Before