February 17, 2011—The Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA) will formally announce in coming days that, due to a shortage of funding, it will no longer provide free technical assistance to all 340B stakeholders and will provide covered entities with differing levels of service depending on their types.
OPA Director Krista Pedley disclosed the cutbacks on Feb. 10 during the 340B Coalition annual winter conference in San Diego. She said an official announcement would be made on or about March 1.
“Absolutely Necessary”
“This is an absolutely necessary position we have to take,” she told the audience. “We’re not talking about 12,000 or 14,000 covered entities anymore. We are not able to use the same model we have been using to reach all of you” through her office’s contractor, the Pharmacy Services Support Center (PSSC).
“Because of the program’s significant expansion without the corresponding funding increase,” Pedley said, “we can no longer provide that same level of individualized service.”
Tiers of Service
Covered entities, she continued, would continue to remain OPA and PSSC’s “top priorities” for technical assistance. But without going into detail, she said those entities “will receive a certain range of services depending on the type of entity [they] are.” Pedley drew a distinction between Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grantees “and all the other grantees,” specifically citing disproportionate share hospitals, Title X family planning clinics, and entities that treat sexually transmitted diseases.
“But the other stakeholder groups, if you are not a covered entity, you will no longer be able to receive services,” she said.
Pedley said her office and PSSC will rely more heavily in the future on “virtual technology,” the OPA Web site and the site’s frequently asked questions page “to reach a broader audience.” She said they also will rely more heavily than before on peer-to-peer mentoring.
“This is the smart decision to take,” Pedley said.
OPA is currently funded at a $2.2 million annual rate and its temporary budget for the present fiscal year, along with that for the entire federal government, will end on March 4 if Congress fails to act.
This week, President Obama requested $10.2 million for OPA for the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1, about half of which would come from a new user fee on 340B drug purchases.