While the 340B Drug Pricing Program was designed to help facilities that take care of impoverished patients with low-cost drugs, what the program has morphed into is almost the opposite of what it was intended to do, said Peter Bach, MD, MPP, director of Memorial Sloan Kettering's Center for Health Policy and Outcomes.
While the 340B Drug Pricing Program was designed to help facilities that take care of impoverished patients with low-cost drugs, what the program has morphed into is almost the opposite of what it was intended to do, said Peter Bach, MD, MPP, director of Memorial Sloan Kettering's Center for Health Policy and Outcomes.
Transcript (slightly modified)
What are the current problems with the 340B Drug Pricing Program?
The 340B program was designed to help facilities that take care of impoverished patients and patients with limited means with low-cost drugs. And the program has shifted from that objective to one that is being used by many hospitals where a small fraction of their patients are poor in the hospital and then they are able to obtain drugs for outpatients who aren't necessarily poor. And what we've seen is a steady expansion. Because hospitals can get these discounted drugs for outpatients, they have expanded into communities where there are wealthy patients—sort of antithetical to the objective of the program.
Who should be involved in the discussions on transforming the 340B program?
This is a government program so I think the important thing is to figure out what we're trying to optimize and I think what we're trying to optimize is access and care. And we're also trying to contain healthcare costs. If you put in a mandatory discount program where all the difference between the discount and the retail reinsurance or insurance rate is captured by the hospital, all you'll get is expansions by the hospitals participating in the program and expansions into more clinics. And that will just add another deadweight cost to healthcare—the exact opposite of what we want to do.
But this is a regulatory issue. The Health Resources and Services Administration administers this program, they should have full authority to identify which patients are eligible and which drugs are eligible. And I honestly think that if drugs are priced appropriately already, they shouldn't be further discounted.
An Overview of Health Care and Pharmaceutical Trends, 2023-2024
April 19th 2024Douglas M. Long, BA, MBA, was featured as the keynote speaker on the closing day of The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2024 annual meeting, with a session dedicated to surveying the health care and pharmaceutical trends of the last year.
Read More
Overcoming Employment Barriers for Lasting Social Impact: Freedom House 2.0 and Pathways to Work
April 16th 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our second episode, in which we learn all about Freedom House 2.0 and the Pathways to Work program.
Listen
Real-World Study Reveals Key Insights Into DLBCL Treatment Patterns, Outcomes
April 18th 2024A recent study offers valuable insights into the characteristics, treatment patterns, and outcomes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in patients across different lines of therapy, providing a look into the landscape of DLBCL management.
Read More
Making Giant Strides in Maternity Health Through Baby Steps
April 9th 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are kicking off a special month-long podcast series with our strategic alliance partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our first episode, which is all about the Baby Steps Maternity Program and its mission to support women throughout every step of their pregnancy journey.
Listen
Collecting SDOH Data Can Assess Risk of Medical Nonadherence, Improve HEI and Star Ratings
April 18th 2024At the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) 2024 annual meeting, a panel of presenters explored changes coming to Medicare that incorporate social determinants of health (SDOH) data to improve patient and health system outcomes.
Read More