October 9, 2020 – Fifty percent. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this is the estimated percentage of Americans who will be diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder in their lifetime. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health already was one of the top health challenges Americans faced. But as we recognize National Mental Illness … [Read more...]
We Have More Reasons Than Ever to Celebrate Pharmacists This Month
October 7, 2020— October is American Pharmacists Month, and this year we have even more reasons to celebrate their contributions to the health care system. Pharmacists are as essential to the health care system’s mobilization in the face of the current public health crisis as the emergency room physicians, the epidemiologists, the intensive care unit nursing staff, and others … [Read more...]
JAMA Study Shows 340B Can Help Restrain Drug Price Hikes
September 22, 2020— A recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece by a pharmaceutical industry consultant resurfaces claims that statutory discounts for safety-net hospitals, health centers, and clinics are forcing drug companies to hike their prices. Drug manufacturers are using this false notion as a pretext for urging program cutbacks in the guise of “reforms” and for refusing … [Read more...]
Outcry Intensifies Over Pharma Moves Against 340B
September 10, 2020— Five major pharmaceutical companies are flouting the 340B drug pricing program statute, and others appear poised to follow suit. But a vocal group of safety-net providers and national organizations are calling on the federal government to use its authority to put a stop to those actions before patients are harmed. Beginning in late June, the drug makers … [Read more...]
340B Experts Navigate in a World Turned Upside Down
By Maureen Testoni August 13, 2020 - In “Hamilton” – my favorite musical – performers describe Revolutionary-era America as “a world turned upside down.” For many of us who work to support the health care safety net in the U.S., that feels like a very apt description of our current environment. A worldwide pandemic coupled with a historic economic decline has changed the … [Read more...]
Faces of 340B: Coming Full Circle
July 28, 2020 – The opioid epidemic over the last decade has resulted in a spike in hepatitis C infections, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports have more than tripled since 2010. Public health and infectious disease experts believe that the common practice of sharing needles among people using opioids is a significant contributing factor to the rise in … [Read more...]
340B in Play During Pre-Recess Push in Congress
July 22, 2020— Congress returned to work this week after an extended July 4th recess for its final push for legislation before both chambers adjourn for a month-long recess in August. Key issues for 340B hospitals are on the table during this time. Lawmakers will focus much of their attention on a third round of response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The package is expected to … [Read more...]