EpiPen costs soar; CEO announces new subsidies

HOUSTON – There are now answers for those suffering because of the soaring costs of EpiPens.

The CEO for the company that makes the life-saving device said it's expanding existing programs for patients who are facing higher out of pocket costs.

The CEO of Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Heather Bresch, said that they are reducing the cost of EpiPens through the use of a savings card, and that patients who were previously paying the full price will have the cost cut by 50 percent. Some local parents say that's great, but that it's happening too late.

On CNBC Thursday morning, Bresch said nobody is more frustrated than her.

"My frustration is there's a list price of $608. There is a system. I laid out that there are four or five hands that the product touches and companies that it goes through before it ever gets to that patient at the counter. No one; everybody should be frustrated. I am hoping that this is an inflection point for this country. Our health care is in a crisis," she said.

Kelly Hicks, of Katy, said the crisis falls on moms like her. She just paid more than $500 on top of back to school costs for her daughter's life-saving treatment.

"I cried that day because I was freaking out, because I was like, what are we going to do?" Hicks said.

Her daughter has a severe allergy to tree nuts. Every year, her EpiPen has to be replaced with the school nurse.

"She would die if she had a reaction. Her windpipe would close up and she would die," Hicks said.

They're forced to buy in packs of two, and the latest calculations show the cost of EpiPens has jumped 575 percent in ten years.

Over that same period, the CEO of Mylan has watched her salary go up, from $2.4 million to nearly $19 million.

"So we're paying for her salary, and that's not fair," Hicks said.

While the CEO said that's not true, Republicans and Democrats claim price gauging. Now, the company that nearly has a monopoly on the market is scrambling to help consumers.

"Here's the perverse thing. Had we lowered the list price, I couldn't insure that everyone that needs and EpiPen gets one. So we went around the system. That's what we announced today. This savings card is equivalent to cash -- $300. So, effectively, we are cutting the price in half, but we're letting you take control of that. We're letting the patient take control of that," Bresch said.

Click here for a link to the EpiPen co-pay offer.