Nathan Bomey

USA TODAY

Pharmaceutical firebrand Martin Shkreli has injected himself into the debate over the skyrocketing price of a life-saving allergy treatment, arguing that the manufacturer of EpiPen doesn't make much money and instead blaming insurers for not covering the tab.

Shkreli — who famously insulted members of Congress earlier this year but refused to testify officially over his own decision to increase the price of a life-saving pill — is now hopping at the chance to defend generic drug manufacturer Mylan.

He may even have opened the door to testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, where he previously cited his Fifth Amendment's right to avoid incriminating himself.

"Any chance i can come through this time and actually testify?" he tweeted Thursday in a post directed at the committee's Democrats.

An account controlled by the committee's Democratic members responded: "If you're no longer asserting the 5th Amendment we certainly want your testimony. Will you testify?"

The so-called "pharma bro" argued in an interview Tuesday with CBS News that "Mylan is the good guy."

EpiPen maker to offer discounts after price hike firestorm

"The idea that they're this big company that's gouging people and making tons of money — I don't think that's quite true," Shkreli told CBS. "The fault here lies in the insurance companies."

The company turned a profit of $847.6 million in 2015 on $9.45 billion in revenue, representing a net profit margin of 8.9%. To be sure, however, Mylan is profiting more heavily off of EpiPen than it does other drugs. The company's operating margin on EpiPen is about 55%, according to at least one analyst, and its overall operating profit margin is 20%.

In 2015, then serving as CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, Shkreli hiked the price of toxoplasmosis treatment Daraprim from $13.50 per pill to $750 per pill. He has since resigned as CEO of Turing and is facing a federal criminal indictment over unrelated allegations, including fraud charges.

Like Shkreli, Mylan is now facing a deluge of criticism after increasing the price of EpiPen by 500% over the last six years to a list price of $600 today for a two pack.

The company said Thursday that it would offer coupons covering up to $300 "for patients in health plans who face higher out-of-pocket costs" and increasing the income level at which families are eligible for assistance to 400% of the federal poverty level.

Shkreli said insurers should jump at the chance to cover the cost of EpiPen since it can prevent an enormously expensive trip to the emergency room.

Marianne Udow-Phillips, director of the Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation at the University of Michigan, said that's "really a false argument" because consumers will still pay the price when insurers pick up the tab.

"There is no other developed country in the world that pays for pharmaceuticals like we do," she said. "They all have some price controls."

As Mylan CEO Heather Bresch was blasting the health-care system for enabling big price increases in a live interview on CNBC on Thursday morning, Shkreli jumped in again, live-tweeting his support for the increase.

"Answer the question--you answer to shareholders," Shkreli tweeted.

On Wednesday, he made his point directly: "So the second $MYL has a decent 'hit' for a product, we all go nuts," he tweeted, using the stock-ticker symbol for Mylan. "Can't someone succeed and not be shamed anymore?"

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.