May 23, 2017—The Trump administration said in fiscal year 2018 budget documents today that it will work with Congress to enable federal health officials to issue regulations to improve the 340B drug discount program’s integrity and transparency. 340B Health, which represents more than 1,300 hospitals and health systems in the program, supports program integrity and transparency but believes legislation is unnecessary to accomplish those goals.
The 340B program has operated for a quarter century with numerous requirements for how hospitals must use the program. 340B Health supports the Health Resources and Services Administration’s increased oversight of the program in recent years, and encourages HRSA to continue its educational efforts to make sure all 340B stakeholders understand the rules. Hospitals are among the most transparent of all healthcare providers. They have to report their costs and charges to the Department of Health and Human Services. They likewise must report various categories of revenue spent to serve low-income patients and communities at large to the Internal Revenue Service. All this information is publicly available. Those data show that 340B disproportionate share hospitals are responsible for 60 percent of the uncompensated care in this country even though they make up only 36 percent of all hospitals.
340B Health looks forward to working with the administration and Congress to protect and maintain the 340B program so it continues to enable hospitals to stretch dollars and serve more patients without tax increases. 340B Health looks forward to continuing to show how 340B is critical to hospitals and their ability to serve their low-income and rural patients.
The 340B program gives hospitals relief from high drug prices. Hospitals rely on the savings to fund critical programs for their low-income, Medicaid, uninsured, and underinsured patient populations. 340B hospitals continue to treat more low-income cancer patients than non-340B providers. They serve more low-income patients and provide more uncompensated care than non-340B hospitals. They provide more vital but money-losing services that are critical to low-income patients like labor and delivery, trauma care, and HIV/AIDS services. 340B hospitals also serve more Medicare Part B patients who are disabled, dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, or are a racial or ethnic minority.
