COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio's House lawmakers have approved a bill to allow patients to request a generic equivalent to the Epipen.
The pricing scandal for Epipen last year is part of what prompted State Representative Derek Merrin to introduce the epinephrine accessibility act at the Ohio Statehouse.
"The bill has two main components. The first enables a pharmacist that receives a brand name prescription for epinephrine the ability to substitute it for a less expensive equivalent epinephrine auto-injector," Merrin explained on the Statehouse floor.
Merrin says a doctor may still demand the Epipen, by writing "dispense as written" on his or her prescription. Democrat and Republican lawmakers in the House voted in favor of the bill. The Senate takes it up next.