In the early 1990s, drug companies began raising prices sharply for safety net health care providers, partly in response to the Medicaid drug rebate program’s creation in 1990. Congress enacted 340B in 1992 to help ease some of this pressure on these providers. It said that, if a drug company wanted its products to continue to be eligible for Medicaid reimbursement, it would … [Read more...]

Yes. Multiple reports show that safety net health care providers use 340B savings just as Congress intended: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found in a September 2011 study that all 340B entities it interviewed reported using their 340B savings in ways that were consistent with the program’s intent. A June 2011 study by Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical … [Read more...]

Many of those who say 340B should be restricted are the ones who will gain the most if that actually happens. Drug manufacturers and biotechnology companies have an obvious reason to restrict the program: They would get to keep more money. These companies are already making billions in profits. According to one recent study, the 11 biggest multinational drug companies racked … [Read more...]

Safety net hospitals, health centers, HIV/AIDS programs, specialized clinics—and the tens of millions of poor, uninsured, and underinsured patients who depend on them for free or inexpensive health care—would all lose if 340B is scaled back or terminated. … [Read more...]