MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Most of the prescriptions you’ll pick up at Good Shepherd Pharmacy are already cheaper than most.
Now add to that list: EpiPens, used to treat severe allergic reactions.
It’s a life-saving device that once sold for around $100 and is now about $600.
Monday, EpiPen’s maker said it will create a cheaper, generic version, but as Dr. Phil Baker explains, that could take weeks — weeks most people who need EpiPens just don’t have.
“If you need an EpiPen, there’s a good chance that you’re gonna die without it,” Dr. Phil Baker of Good Shepherd Pharmacy says.
After a donation last month, Baker says his pharmacy is giving EpiPens away to some customers for free.
“You have to have no prescription insurance and your income has to be below a pretty high level,” he says.
That income level is about $50,000 a year.
There’s still 53 of the EpiPens up for grabs, but surprisingly, Baker says not a lot of folks have been by to claim one.
“A lot of people just think it’s too good to be true, that we would have these for free.”
If you’d like an EpiPen, Baker says you can reach out to the pharmacy through its website.
