August 18, 2014—Nonprofit hospitals and health systems remained barely in the black in 2013 and signs point to even more financial pressure ahead, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services warned last week in two new reports. … [Read more...]
One-Third of Drugmakers Skipped Medicare Part B Price-Reporting Requirement
Failure might have resulted in incorrect payments to providers, OIG findsAugust 14, 2014—More than a third of drugmakers failed to submit average sales price data to the federal government for one or more of their Medicare Part B drugs during third quarter of 2012, despite being required to do so, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General has found. … [Read more...]
Judge Repeats That Calif. 340B Medicaid Carve-Out Ban Is Invalid
State is appealing the decisionAugust 12, 2014—A federal district judge has reaffirmed that California health officials may not enforce a state law that forbids 340B health care providers from "carving out" 340B-purchased drugs from California's Medicaid program, Medi-Cal. State health care officials say they will appeal. … [Read more...]
Public Hospitals Provided $7.7 Billion in Uncompensated Care in 2012
America’s Essential Hospitals members report average operating loss of 0.4 percentAugust 7, 2014—Public hospitals and health systems – nearly all of which participate in the 340B program – provided more than $7.7 billion in uncompensated care in 2012, new data from the group America's Essential Hospitals show. The figure is about $1.7 billion greater than total amount spent on all drugs through the 340B program in 2012 by all types of health care providers. … [Read more...]
Sovaldi’s Immediate Impact on Medicare Part D Spending Unclear
Pharmacy benefit managers and drugmakers spar over hepatitis C drugAugust 6, 2014— Sovaldi and other expensive new hepatitis C drugs will increase federal Medicare Part D spending by $2.9 billion to $5.8 billion in 2015 and raise Part D premiums by as much as 8.6 percent, pharmacy benefit management companies warn in a new report. … [Read more...]
340B: A Program That Transcends Party Affiliation
According to the policy magazine National Journal, Congress is more polarized now than ever before. That why it's especially noteworthy that more than 100 members from both parties and all parts of the political spectrum have signed letters expressing “strong bipartisan support for the 340B drug discount program,” which the lawmakers say allows "hundreds of hospitals and other … [Read more...]
Over 100 Members of Congress Express Bipartisan Support for 340B
Drug discounts let hospitals and others "do more with less," they sayJuly 31, 2014—More than 100 members of Congress have signed letters expressing “bipartisan support” for the 340B drug discount program, which the lawmakers say allows "hundreds of hospitals and other safety net providers across the country to do more with less." … [Read more...]