July 8, 2022– The national campaign to address deep inequities in health and health care in the U.S. will require comprehensive changes throughout the health care system. Safety-net hospitals participating in the 340B drug pricing program can be key forces in that movement for change. A recent annual report from 340B Health profiles seven hospitals and health systems that … [Read more...]
U.S. Supreme Court Backs 340B Hospitals by Striking Down Medicare Cuts
June 24, 2022 — It is rare for the U.S. Supreme Court to agree to consider a legal case in the first place. Nor do the Supreme Court justices always agree on the decision after agreeing to review such a case. But that is exactly what the court did when it unanimously decided in favor of hospitals participating in the 340B drug pricing program on the issue of Medicare payment … [Read more...]
Congressional Champions Stand Up to Defend 340B
June 20, 2022— Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from both political parties went to the House floor recently to deliver a historic series of speeches honoring the upcoming 30th anniversary of the 340B drug pricing program and urging their colleagues to defend the program against unlawful attacks by drug companies. The lawmakers’ unified message was that 340B is … [Read more...]
340B Is Key in the Fight to End Viral Hepatitis
May 27, 2022 – In January 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a strategic plan to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030. Hospitals participating in the 340B drug pricing program are a key element of that ambitious goal. They are using their 340B savings to achieve measurable improvements in health outcomes for patients with hepatitis C. National … [Read more...]
Hospitals and Government Leaders Unite in Defense of 340B
May 25, 2022— Federal appeals courts are considering legal challenges to the government’s authority to require drug companies to restore 340B drug pricing program discounts on drugs dispensed at community and specialty pharmacies. In a series of legal briefs filed with two of the courts, five national hospital associations and 25 state attorneys general urged the courts to … [Read more...]
With 340B Pricing Restrictions, Hospitals Are Facing Double the Trouble
May 18, 2022— Safety-net hospitals participating in the 340B drug pricing program are reporting that the negative effects of restrictions imposed by pharmaceutical companies on access to drug price discounts are rapidly rising. A new survey of more than 500 hospitals participating in 340B finds that the financial losses from these restrictions more than doubled in three short … [Read more...]
Faces of 340B: Community Pharmacy Partnerships Aid in the Cancer Care Cause
April 22, 2022 – A bell rings and a round of applause is heard. A patient is marking the end of their cancer treatments at St. Anthony Regional Hospital in Carroll, Iowa. The patient knows the chemotherapy and radiation treatments they received from the St. Anthony Regional Cancer Center enabled them to reach this special day. What they may not realize is that the hospital’s … [Read more...]