June 8, 2011— St. John's Regional Medical Center, the 340B-enrolled hospital in Joplin, Mo., devastated by a tornado on May 22, is demonstrating how seriously it takes its mission to serve the public. Just seven days after it was hammered by the nation's deadliest tornado since 1939, it reopened as St. John's Mercy Hospital—a fully functional, 60-bed mobile acute care … [Read more...]
Grifols-Talecris Merger Approved
FTC expresses concern about access to 340B-discounted IVIG.June 3, 2011— The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) yesterday tentatively approved the merger of blood product manufacturers Grifols and Talecris on the condition that the companies sell several of their assets. In a concurring separate statement , however, Commissioner Julie Brill called attention to the difficulty that 340B covered entities have had trying to obtain the blood … [Read more...]
Tornado Devastates Missouri 340B Hospital
OPA activates flexibility during disasters policy statewide.May 25, 2011— St. John's Regional Medical Center, a 340B disproportionate share hospital in Joplin, Mo., was devastated by a major tornado on May 22. There were more than 120 known fatalities in the community as of May 25, five of them patients of St. John's. It was the nation's deadliest single tornado since 1939. Due to extensive structural damage, the hospital was … [Read more...]
340B Stakeholders Begin Poring Over Orphan Drug Rule
Spirited fight ahead over regulation's final wording.May 25, 2011—Rural and freestanding cancer hospitals should be allowed to buy orphan drugs at 340B-discounted prices when they use the medicines to treat non-orphan diseases or conditions, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) says in a long-awaitedproposed regulation—the first ever for the 340B program. The Monitor was the first to break the news of this … [Read more...]
HRSA Releases 340B Orphan Drug Proposed Regulation
Drugs would qualify for discounts when used for non-orphan indications.May 19, 2011— The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) this morning made available for public inspection a long-awaited proposed regulation to implement health care reform's prohibition on 340B discounts for orphan drugs purchased by hospitals that became eligible for the program under reform. The proposed regulation, which is the first ever for the 340B … [Read more...]
OMB Completes Its Review of 340B Orphan Drug Rules
New patient definition guidance could be issued any day now.May 17, 2011— The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has finished reviewing proposed federal regulations to implement health care reform's partial prohibition on 340B discounts for orphan drugs. On its Web site late yesterday, the budget agency noted that it sent the draft back to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) with unspecified … [Read more...]
Studies: Medicaid Block Grants Would Fuel Uncompensated Care
Reports released as negotiations that will decide OPA's funding heat up.May 13, 2011— U.S. House Republican proposals to repeal health care reform and convert Medicaid into a block grant could add up to 44 million people to the ranks of the uninsured by 2021, a new study this week by the nonpartisan Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured concludes. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), meanwhile, reported on the same … [Read more...]