Kudos to Dr. Bruce Siegel for his commentary in Modern Healthcare explaining why 340B savings should stay where they belong—with patients and communities.
Allowing 340B savings “to revert to drug companies, or to go toward other uses, would pull the thread of the 340B program and unravel the fabric of essential health services for entire communities,” writes Siegel, the president and CEO of America’s Essential Hospitals. Siegel also serves on the board of Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access.
Hospitals that commit to caring for low-income and other vulnerable patients provide communities with highly specialized care often unavailable from other hospitals, he points out. They also train large numbers of health professionals, provide vital public health services, and support clinics that expand access to outpatient care, he adds.
“These are the services we put at risk if essential hospitals lose their 340B program savings,” Siegel says. “Our hospitals operate with the narrowest of margins or at a loss, so every dollar saved counts.”
“In the end, we face a choice: side with communities by keeping 340B discounts where they belong—with patients and safety net hospitals—or chip away at support of care for the vulnerable and put everyone at risk,” Siegel concludes. “Returning an incremental profit to drugmakers or using 340B savings for other purposes equates to more hospital cuts—and higher costs, poorer health and lowered productivity in communities across the country.”
Click here for the complete essay.