Epinephrine Autoinjector Costs Remain High for Some Patients with Private Insurance

July 15, 2022

Healio recently published an article featuring research from Rena Conti, Associate Professor of Markets, Public Policy, and Law, on the prices of epinephrine autoinjectors, which are used to combat life-threatening allergic reactions, remaining high for many depending on insurance.

In a study measuring 657,813 patients enrolled in epinephrine autoinjector fills, Rena and Kao-Ping Chua, MD, PhD, examined employer-sponsored insurance claims. They found that generic autoinjector brands preserved efficacy but at a lower price, leading them to advise doctors to prescribe nonbranded autoinjectors to their patients. Kao-Ping emphasized this point, saying that, “to mitigate these problems, doctors should prescribe the epinephrine autoinjector with the lowest list price when deciding between products.”

Ultimately, Rena and her co-author argue that with the availability of lower-priced drugs, patient out-of-pocket spending will likely decrease.