July 27, 2010 – The federal Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA) formally announced yesterday that it will begin enrolling hospitals that are newly eligible for 340B drug discounts on Aug. 2. It also announced that it will hold a webinar tomorrow, Wednesday July 28, beginning at 1:00 p.m. (Eastern time) to explain how enrollment will proceed. Participants can register for the webinar on either the OPA or Pharmacy Services Support Center (PSSC) home pages.
Dr. Mary Wakefield, administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), informally announced the beginning of enrollment for critical access hospitals, sole community hospitals and rural referral centers last week during the 340B Coalition annual conference in Washington. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) also made 11 free-standing cancer hospitals eligible for 340B but only one is expected to meet the program’s 11.75 percent Medicare disproportionate-share threshold for participation. Free-standing children’s hospitals have been able to enroll in the drug discount program since last fall.
OPA yesterday also confirmed that the new hospital types will be admitted on a rolling basis between Aug. 2 and Sept. 30 to speed up their entry to the program. During that time, entities will be added to OPA’s 340B covered entity database as soon as it can confirm their eligibility. Because registration requires at least three days of processing time, hospitals must submit all required documents by Sept. 27.