January 26, 2012—Apexus, the organization that runs the 340B Prime Vendor Program (PVP), is giving a quarter-million-dollar challenge grant to a nonprofit foundation created in 2010 to raise funds for the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative (PSPC). Launched in 2008, PSPC is made up of more than 120 … [Read more...]
More Americans Lacked Health Coverage in 2011
Young adults were the only major demographic to buck the trend, Gallup study finds.January 25, 2012—The proportion of American adults lacking health insurance coverage climbed to 17.1 percent last year, the highest level since the Gallup Organization and the disease-management company Healthways began tracking the indicator five years ago, the companies reported yesterday. The new study, whose findings dovetail with those reported by the U.S. Census Bureau … [Read more...]
Will 340B Orphan Drug Final Rule Come Out in May?
Projected timing of release appears in HHS regulatory agenda.January 24, 2012—The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has set May as its target for issuing its long-awaited final rule to implement health care reform's prohibition on 340B discounts for orphan drugs purchased by hospitals that became eligible for 340B under reform. The projected timeframe for publication was included in the Department of Health and Human … [Read more...]
OPA Begins Auditing 340B Providers
Number and types of entities chosen for review is unclear.January 20, 2012—The Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA) has begun its first-ever audits of 340B covered entities to determine if they are eligible to receive drug discounts, if they have sold or diverted discounted drugs to ineligible patients, and if they are able to prevent and detect instances of drug diversion and duplicate discounts. Some hospitals have received letters … [Read more...]
OPA Gives 340B Hospitals a Head’s Up About Recertification
Email reminds officials that failure to comply will lead to dismissal.January 19, 2012—The Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA) has begun reminding hospitals enrolled in the 340B program that this spring they will be required for the first time to recertify that they are eligible to buy 340B-discounted drugs. Just over 21 percent of sites enrolled in 340B belong to a hospital, ranking them third behind consolidated health centers (27 percent) and … [Read more...]
AIDS Drug Assistance Programs Growing More Reliant on 340B and Voluntary Rebates
Dependence on 340B and supplemental rebates rises as government share of aid wanes.January 13, 2012—State AIDS drug assistance programs (ADAPs) are relying more than ever on the 340B program and voluntary rebates from manufacturers as direct government funding has dried up, the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) says in a new report. ADAPs, which provide HIV treatments to low-income individuals with little or no prescription … [Read more...]
Reform-Driven 340B Expansion Has Slowed Considerably
Only 66 sites were added this quarter, about half the number in Q4 2011.January 11, 2012—Hospital site enrollment in 340B through the drug discount program's expansion under health care reform has fallen off significantly, according to new figures from the Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA). According to OPA, only 66 rural and children's hospital sites were added to 340B on Jan. 1, the beginning of the first quarter of 2012. That was the … [Read more...]