Heather Bresch Blames Health Care System

The Mylan CEO Heather Bresch is taking some heat for the skyrocketing prices of EpiPen but instead believes that Americans should be redirecting their anger towards the broken system. After the cost of the lifesaving allergy treatments went up more than 400%, Mylan was under fire on Thursday, pledging to make the Epipen more affordable.

However, Bresch argued that the complex health care system, cuts along the supply chain and the lack of transparency – leads to higher prices throughout the industry. Even pointing out that deductibles and copays are increasing.

Bresch compared the crisis in the health care industry to the 2008 real estate mortgage crisis. It is similar in many respects, another case of a company hiking prices and taking advantage of its consumers.

Mylan made efforts to make the EpiPen affordable for some patients – by providing a 50% savings for those on a high deductible health care plan or for those without insurance. Regardless, it is still way more than the original price of $100 back in 2009, which is still expensive for a product that expires.

The name Heather is derived from the English word heather, which is the name of a variety of small shrubs that have either white or pink flowers and are found in rocky areas. The name was originally taken from the Middle English word hather. The word was first used in the 19th century as a given name but did not become common until the later half of the 20th century.