A few years ago there had been a large amount of outrage over the price increases of EpiPens, the injectable allergy treatment. Specifically, the price of Epipens have increased from $70 to $600 over the past 10 years.

a.) The primary reason the price of EpiPens had increased so dramatically is a lack of competition. Specifically, the producer of Epipens (Mylan) has patent protection on EpiPens until 2025 - which means they have complete monopoly power over this product and can legally charge whatever price they want. If the problem is a lack of competition, why doesn't the government solve the problem by allowing competition. In other words, if patent protection causes companies to charge exorbitant prices (and creates deadweight loss), why not eliminate patent protection together?

b.) More recently there's has been a lot of press over the high prices for insulin, which unlike EpiPens is not subject to patent protection. What are the major reasons for the high prices for insulin? (See an article that discusses this here)

c.) What, if anything, do you think you should be done to reduce the price of lifesaving prescriptions like Insulin or EpiPens? Explain.