A group of 20 senators responded to Mylan's recent announcement to expand its drug discount program and release a generic version of the injectable medication, following the controversy over the cost of EpiPens, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The senators — consisting of 19 democrats and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) —sent a letter Tuesday to Helen Bresch, CEO of Canonsburg, Pa.-based Mylan. The senators called the move "a well-defined industry tactic to keep costs high through a complex shell game."
In the letter, the senators described the company's discount program as "short-term co-pay assistance for expensive drugs," and observed that "insurance companies, the government and employers still bear the burden of these excessive prices," according to the report.
The senators added these higher insurance and government costs "areeventually passed on to consumers in the form of higher premiums."
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