Feb. 8, 2018— Academic experts continue to question claims that the 340B drug discount program is the cause of consolidations of private physician practices and community-based hospitals. They argue the trend toward consolidation is much more complex and due to a series of factors, including changes in reimbursement policies. In the Feb. 8 issue of Forbes magazine, Duke … [Read more...]
The 340B Commitment to Service
January 15, 2018—On today’s national holiday, people nationwide are participating in a national day of service in communities that need help the most. Every day for the past 25 years, hospitals and health systems participating in the 340B drug discount program have served the underserved in those same communities. Underserved patients – including those with low incomes, … [Read more...]
Don’t Let CMS Cut 340B Hospital Payments, 32 Hospital Associations Urge Court
December 13, 2017—Thirty-two state and regional hospital associations say many hospitals they represent and scores of low-income, vulnerable, and rural patients the hospitals serve will suffer great harm if a controversial Medicare regulation takes effect on Jan. 1 as planned. … [Read more...]
Senate Hearing Next Week on Outrageous Prescription Drug Prices
December 5, 2017—The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is holding a Dec. 12 hearing on new National Academies of Sciences (NAS) findings on why medicines cost so much and recommendations on how to fix the problem. The NAS’s Nov. 30 report is drawing attention for calling on the federal government to negotiate drugs prices with manufacturers, deny … [Read more...]
More Than Half of U.S. House Urges CMS to Drop 340B Hospital Cuts
September 29, 2017—A bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives wants the Trump administration to drop plans to slash what Medicare pays safety-net and rural hospitals for typically expensive specialty drugs that must be administered by trained professionals. The 228 Republican and Democratic lawmakers made the request in a Sept. 28 letter to Centers for … [Read more...]
Hospitals Protest Decision to Delay Rule to Deter Drug Manufacturer Overcharging
September 28, 2017—Hospitals in the federal 340B drug discount program objected strongly today to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ decision to delay enforcement of a critical 340B program rule to police drug manufacturer overcharging, from Oct. 1, 2017 to July 1, 2018. The hospitals say they also are troubled that HHS says it intends to engage in additional … [Read more...]