May 28, 2010 - The U.S. House took a first step today toward repealing the provision in the new health reform law that prohibits certain 340B covered entities from buying "orphan" drugs at a discount. The House passed the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 (H.R. 4213), which contains a provision lifting the orphan-drug prohibition for free-standing … [Read more...]
U.S. House Approves Limited 340B Inpatient Provision
New 340B-1 program would be administered entirely apart from existing program.May 28, 2010 - The U.S. House passed legislation today that would create a new, voluntary drug discount program entirely separate from the current 340B program and governed by its own rules and guidelines. The American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 (H.R. 4213) would also enable children's hospitals to continue to buy "orphan" drugs at a discount. The new … [Read more...]
340B Providers to Receive Refunds from Upsher-Smith
May 27, 2010 - Refunds will be coming to 340B covered entities that bought the Upsher-Smith Laboratories (USL) women's health drugs Fortical and Vandazole from the fourth quarter of 2006 through October 2009. And for the first time, the government contractor that runs the 340B Prime Vendor Program (PVP) will be involved in processing the payments. The National Drug Code … [Read more...]
House May Add Limited Inpatient Drug Discount to Tax Bill
Measure would also allow children's hospitals to access 340B discounts on outpatient orphan drugs.May 24, 2010 - The U.S. House is expected to consider a tax bill perhaps as soon as tomorrow that would create a dramatically downsized version of the inpatient drug discount sought by safety net hospitals and other 340B providers. The new voluntary program, which sources say might be named 340B-1, would be separate from the existing 340B outpatient drug discount program and … [Read more...]
Most Cancer Centers Wouldn’t Qualify for 340B, Study Finds
May 21, 2010 - Ten of the 11 free-standing cancer centers that were just allowed to seek 340B drug discounts would be denied enrollment if they were to apply because they do not meet the program's eligibility requirements, an analysis by a health care consulting firm concludes. The findings by Avalere Health, which the company summarized on its Web site, could represent a … [Read more...]
State Medicaid Offices Scrambling to Develop a Replacement for AWP
May 13, 2010 - State Medicaid programs have been working feverishly since the settlement of a major lawsuit last fall to replace the average wholesale price (AWP) standard used to set pharmacy reimbursement rates. In a side agreement to the September 2009 settlement, the drug-information publishers First DataBank and Medi-Span agreed to stop publishing AWP-based … [Read more...]
GPO Prohibition Remains in Place Except for New Rural Hospitals
Exceptions language was removed at the same time as inpatient provision.May 12, 2010 - During the health care reform debate, discussion of the 340B program focused mainly on its expansion and steps to improve its integrity. But other matters received plenty of attention behind the scenes, including long-standing efforts by 340B hospitals to win exceptions to the rule barring them from buying outpatient drugs through group purchasing organizations … [Read more...]