Study: 340B Essential to Oregon Health Centers

by Admin | March 14, 2014 9:41 am

[1]A new study [2]shows that the 340B program is vital to helping health providers in Oregon better treat the vulnerable and underserved.

Specifically, the report found that 340B savings allow federally qualified health centers in the state to provide:

• financial assistance to patients unable to afford their prescriptions
• clinical pharmacy services, such as disease management programs or medication therapy management
• additional clinics
• community outreach programs

“FQHCs rely on the 340B funding to offset the costs of providing these and other important (yet unreimbursed) services. And as safety-net community providers, FQHCs use the funding to benefit all patients of the community, indirectly passing savings to the state as a whole,” said the report which was commissioned by the Oregon Primary Care Association.

Oregon is weighing whether to require these health centers to hand over essentially all of their savings on 340B drugs provided to Medicaid beneficiaries.

“Policies that shift cost savings to the state may not actually be effective and could adversely impact patient care,” the study concluded.

Oregon is just one example of how critical 340B is to assisting health providers across the country meet their missions to help needy patients.

Source URL: https://340binformed.org/2014/03/study-340b-essential-to-oregon-health-centers/

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