Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) is in an "awkward position" after his daughter, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch, spiked the price of the life-saving allergy EpiPen from $100 in 2009 to between $600 and $700 today, NBC's Kristen Welker said Friday.
"With calls mounting for a congressional investigation, the controversy is putting her father West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, in an awkward position," Welker said.
On Thursday, Manchin released a statement saying that he plans to work with his colleagues to lower the price of prescription drugs. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Ia.) said that Mylan has the monopoly on the EpiPen and thus can price-gouge the product.
Bresch defended her $19 million salary on CNBC Thursday by saying that "facts are inconvenient to headlines." Bresch went on to blame the "broken" healthcare system and said that every person who needs an EpiPen has access to one because of her company's lobbying to force schools, airports and hotels to stock the allergy injection.
Mylen bowed to public pressure after advocate Sarah Jessica Parker cut ties with the company by offering a rebate card worth $300. Bresch said that it is the equivalent of cash.
The rebate card does not cover everyone though. Customers need to seek out the card and it only covers those who have insurance.
The New York Post reported Thursday that Bresch is a Clinton Foundation donor and has donated up to $250,000. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called the price hike "outrageous" and "the latest example of a company taking advantage of its consumers."