June 12, 2019— As policymakers debate the future of the 340B drug pricing program, a new report by 340B Health finds that hospitals are using the savings from outpatient prescription drug discounts to care for patients with low incomes and those living in underserved rural communities. The report is based on a survey of more than 1,300 hospitals participating in … [Read more...]
Faces of 340B: The Sting of High Drug Prices
June 4, 2019— The connection between the 340B drug pricing program and scorpions might not be a natural one for an outsider to make. But the health professionals at Arizona-based Banner Health know how important the former can be for someone who has an unfortunate run-in with the latter. In the southwest U.S., patients experiencing stings from poisonous bark scorpions … [Read more...]
Faces of 340B: Going Above and Beyond
May 24, 2019— The mission of Catholic Health System based in Buffalo, N.Y., is to treat all patients with respect and dignity regardless of what brings them through the doors. That’s why the Mount St. Mary’s Neighborhood Health Center in Niagara Falls, at one of the system’s five hospitals, goes “above and beyond” to help patients living with drug and alcohol use disorders, … [Read more...]
340B Helps Achieve Hepatitis C “Gold Standard” At Boston Medical Center
May 17, 2019– A recent study highlights how the 340B drug pricing program helps a safety-net hospital provide critical treatment to patients with Hepatitis C (HCV) and improve health outcomes. Published in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers at Boston Medical Center (BMC) found that the hospital’s 340B savings enabled them to operate a primary-care based multidisciplinary HCV … [Read more...]
Drug Industry Consultant Paints Incomplete Picture of 340B
May 14, 2019– Drug-industry consultant Adam Fein has released his annual analysis of the 340B program, painting an incomplete picture of the size and scope of the program. Fein claims in his Drug Channels blog that the 340B program “accounts for at least 7-to-8 percent of the total U.S. drug market […] yet hospitals’ charity care has dropped amid 340B program’s growth.” Not … [Read more...]
Let’s Celebrate Maternal Health on Mother’s Day
May 10, 2019— For those of us dedicated to safety-net hospitals and the patients they serve, Mother’s Day is about much more than homemade cards and breakfast in bed. It’s also about recognizing that honoring mothers means ensuring access to maternal health, especially for women living in underserved areas. The issue of maternal health is one that is close to the heart for … [Read more...]
Drug companies answer scrutiny with more lobbying dollars
May 2, 2019— With its pricing practices under a congressional microscope, the pharmaceutical industry’s top trade group spent nearly $10 million on lobbying expenditures in the first three months of this year. That figure is on top of additional millions spent by some of the individual companies that have received the most attention recently in the drug pricing … [Read more...]