With the signing of a new law, Illinois just became the first state to require insurance companies to cover the cost of EpiPen injections for children, in cases of severe allergic reactions. Known as House Bill 3435, the law will go into effect January 1. It will require Illinois health insurance companies to pay for “medically necessary epinephrine injectors for persons 18 years of age or under.”
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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who signed the law, said in a tweet, “This legislation takes a big step forward in protecting our children and families."
EpiPen has been a topic of controversy for quite some time due to their skyrocketing prices. The medication contains about $1 worth of epinephrine, yet has become outrageously expensive. Mylan — EpiPen’s distributor — is facing increased public scrutiny for price gouging; the list price for a two-pack of EpiPens is more than $600, up from a little over $100 in 2007.
Mylan has tried to downplay the drug's outrageous cost by saying that most patients have insurance coverage and they offer coupons to help reduce co-payments. People with high deductibles may still end up paying most of the costs out of pocket, however, and people have to purchase new EpiPens every year, even if they don't use them, due to the one-year expiration date. Some, however, are taking a gamble by keeping their expired EpiPens in lieu of spending hundreds of dollars on a new set.
In regard to the new law, Illinois State Senator Julie Morrison said, “With steady increases in food allergies and other serious allergic conditions, families are relying on EpiPens more than ever before. We should be doing everything we can to expand access to affordable lifesaving drugs and medicines. No child with a serious allergy should be without an epinephrine injector because they cannot afford one."