Pharmaceutical companies overcharge for medication and medical devices that are necessary for individuals to survive. For example, an EpiPen (Epinephrine) costs roughly $30 to produce while Mylen, the company that makes the EpiPen, charges $300 for it. The EpiPen is a life saving medication that saves individuals with severe allergies from going into analeptic shock; which may lead to death without the EpiPen. It is an abomination that pharmaceutical companies are profiting so much from medication/devices that cost so little to make. There must be an end to pharmaceutical companies charging so much for medications/devices that are necessary for survival.
According to NASW Code of Ethics section 6.04 states that social workers should engage in social and political action to ensure that all people have equal access to the resources they may need to meet their basic needs (NASW, 2017). Pharmaceutical companies overcharging for necessary medication/medical devices is a violation of the following standard within the code of ethics. This is a violation because many individuals cannot access the medication they need for survival due to costs of the medication; which only costs companies a couple of dollars to make.
