Hospitals welcome Congress's interest in 340B, but they ask lawmakers to "let the regulatory process work" before doing anything to the drug discount program, the head of the group representing 340B hospitals writes in the March 5 edition of The Hill. The essay by Ted Slafsky, president and CEO of Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access, was timed to run on the same day … [Read more...]
Hospital Outpatient Departments Treat Poorer, Sicker Patients
A brickbat often heaved at 340B hospitals is that the drug discounts they get give them an unfair competitive advantage over private cancer clinics. These critics conveniently neglect to mention that many private cancer clinics cherry pick their patients while 340B hospitals treat all who walk through their doors regardless of ability to pay. A new study by KNG Health … [Read more...]
Few Programs Produce as Much Good with as Little Cost as 340B
Kudos to Dr. Bruce Siegel for his commentary in Modern Healthcare explaining why 340B savings should stay where they belong—with patients and communities. Allowing 340B savings "to revert to drug companies, or to go toward other uses, would pull the thread of the 340B program and unravel the fabric of essential health services for entire communities," writes Siegel, the … [Read more...]
340B Keeps Dollars from Pharma R&D?
Big Pharma says that lost profits from the 340B drug discount program impact investments in research and development. Really? That doesn’t square with a new Vox infographic that shows nine out of 10 major pharmaceutical companies spent far more on sales and marketing than R&D in 2013. Johnson & Johnson spent $8.2 billion on research and development but blew more than … [Read more...]
Reducing or Eliminating 340B “Could Cripple Safety Net”
At a time when Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement rates continue to shrink, reducing or eliminating 340B could cripple safety net providers across the U.S., the president of the Institute for Healthcare Innovation writes today in Healthcare Finance. "Without a strong and vibrant 340B program, safety net providers may not be able to afford high-priced medications developed by … [Read more...]
How is the Drug Industry Doing These Days?
The drug industry and its surrogates love to repeat the ridiculous line that the 340B drug discount program "is being exploited by rich hospitals to boost their bottom lines." Drug companies, they claim, are "incurring heavy losses from 340B abuse," as one drug company apologist recently put it. SNHPA has created an infographic that sets the record straight. It compares the … [Read more...]
New Study on Underinsurance Underscores 340B’s Importance
Drugmakers and others who want the 340B program to disappear sometimes argue there's less need for the drug discounts in the post-Obamacare era. New research shows why they're wrong. Underinsurance in America is growing, as non-elderly adults are paying more out-of-pocket for private health insurance, a new Commonwealth Fund study finds. What's more, the problem is most acute … [Read more...]