August 7, 2009 - As Congress wrangled over the details of health reform over the past month, many concessions were made as committee chairmen tried to gain the votes needed to push the legislation forward. But one element of the health reform package – a significant expansion of the 340B program – remains standing. In fact, legislation to expand the 340B program to new … [Read more...]
California Bans Medicaid Carve-Outs
In an effort to patch its $24-billion budget hole, the state requires 340B providers to bill Medi-Cal at actual acquisition cost. Safety-net providers end up paying the bill.August 7, 2009 - 340B providers will be required to bill Medi-Cal at actual acquisition cost and unable to carve Medi-Cal drugs out of the 340B program. The changes went into effect when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a California budget bill July 28, and will be implemented in September. The legislation allows a 340B provider to bill at regular Medi-Cal reimbursement … [Read more...]
HRSA Asked to Allow Stockpiling of 340B Drugs for Emergencies
August 7, 2009 - For the past two years, Congress has increased pressure on the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to scrap a controversial proposal to limit the definition of patients eligible for 340B-discounted medicines. Now, lawmakers are telling the federal agency to also allow health care providers more flexibility when using the 340B program. In its … [Read more...]
No Medicare Part B Cuts for 340B Hospitals in Proposed Rules for 2010
August 7, 2009 - The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has tentatively agreed not to adjust Medicare Part B reimbursement paid to 340B hospitals for outpatient drugs below the level paid to non-340B hospitals. This decision is a reversal from the agency’s October 2008 request for comments – and apparent plan – to cut payments to 340B providers. The change would have … [Read more...]
340B: To Be or Not to Be
August 7, 2009 - For more than 15 years, safety-net providers have benefitted from 340B drug discounts that help them serve millions of uninsured patients who show up seeking care every year. Such institutions have grown the federal 340B program into a $5-billion market that now affects 14,000-plus health care facilities and more than 800 manufacturers and wholesalers. But … [Read more...]
Two HRSA Notices Nearing Goal, Third Pending
It looks as if children’s hospitals and contract pharmacies are a go. But what will happen with HRSA’s revision of the patient definition guidance?August 7, 2009 - More than three years after former President George Bush signed into law the Deficit Reduction Act, allowing free-standing children’s hospitals to enroll in the 340B drug discount program, such hospitals are finally on the verge of getting in. Mary Wakefield, head of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), said the formal guidance that would … [Read more...]
House Bill Expands Rebates and Fed’s Role in Part D Pricing
Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) wants to squeeze more concessions from manufacturers under health reform.August 7, 2009 - Some drug industry executives breathed a sigh of relief when Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and the Obama administration announced in June that they had reached an agreement with brand-name drug manufacturers to provide $80 billion toward health reform. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) Compared with other players in … [Read more...]