In August, Klobuchar called for a hearing to investigate the enormous price increase of EpiPens; She has also called on the Justice Department, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the misclassification of the EpiPen through the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program at the expense of states and taxpayers
The Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday, November 30 that will focus on the reported settlement between the Justice Department and Mylan, as well as the misclassification of the EpiPen
WASHINGTON, DC – Following efforts from U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, the Senate Judiciary Committee announced that it will hold a hearing on EpiPen Maker Mylan. In August, Klobuchar, the Ranking Member of the Antitrust Subcommittee, called for a hearing to investigate the enormous price increase of EpiPens. She has also called on the Justice Department (DOJ), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the misclassification of the EpiPen through the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program at the expense of states and taxpayers. The Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday, November 30 that will focus on the recent settlement agreement between the Justice Department and Mylan, as well as the misclassification of the EpiPen.
“I called for a hearing to examine the outrageous EpiPen price increase, and it’s great that the Judiciary Committee has one on the books. We need to get to the bottom of the EpiPen misclassification, which has cost taxpayers millions,” Klobuchar said. “Does this settlement effectively remedy the harm caused by the misclassification? How do we prevent further misclassifications like this one? Are there more misclassifications that need to be addressed? These are the questions that need to be answered at this hearing.”
Since the end of 1997, EpiPen has been misclassified as a “Non-Innovator Multiple Source Drug,” or generic drug, for purposes of the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. In order to protect states from high pharmaceutical prices, the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program requires drug companies to pay a percentage of their revenues to states in the form of rebates. Under this program, companies like Mylan are required to pay a higher rebate for brand-name drugs than for generic drugs. In August, Klobuchar wrote to CMS and called on the agency to provide information on the effect of Mylan’s price increases on government prescription drug costs, asking specifically why EpiPen was classified as a generic drug under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. Following Klobuchar’s efforts, CMS found that Mylan had misclassified the EpiPen as a “Non-Innovator Multiple Source Drug,” or generic drug, resulting in overpayment for the drug by states and the federal government through the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. Klobuchar and Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) have also urged the Department of Health and Human Services to clarify the circumstances of the EpiPen misclassification.
In September, Klobuchar, Blumenthal, and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) called for DOJ to consider investigating whether Mylan Pharmaceuticals violated the law when it misclassified its EpiPen product in order to pay a lower rebate to states and reap huge profits at the expense of taxpayers.
