AIR340B submitted a response to a bipartisan Senate request for information (RFI) on the state of the 340B program — an opportunity to discuss changes that are long overdue. While it’s encouraging to see Congress take notice of program loopholes, history has proven when it comes to prioritizing patients, empty promises frequently leave patients with little support.
We urge Congress to require hospitals to share 340B discounts with patients on 340B medications administered to low-income patients at both 340B hospitals and contract pharmacies. This requirement, often referred to as a sliding fee scale, would protect patients against profit-hungry hospitals looking to pad their own pockets.
Oversight measures around program expansion are also needed to ensure the program is concentrated in medically underserved areas (MUAs), rather than affluent communities. Our response highlights recent findings which reveal 65% of 340B disproportionate share hospitals (DSH) are not located in MUAs. If the 340B program isn’t expanding into MUAs, how can we expect our most vulnerable patients to access 340B savings?
Speaking of patient access, it’s past time we more clearly define a 340B patient to help determine when hospitals can obtain 340B savings, in turn establishing critical guardrails against meaningless program growth.
Lastly, but certainly not least, our response addresses concerns over 340B hospitals’ lack of commitment to charity care. An alarming report reveals that 65% of 340B DSH hospitals provide below average levels of charity care — falling short of what should be a cornerstone of the 340B program. Therefore, implementing accountability measures around charity care is critically needed to ensure 340B savings are benefiting vulnerable patients.
While the 340B program can serve as a valuable tool for health equity, commonsense fixes to accountability and oversight measures can’t wait. This RFI certainly gives us hope for future efforts to put patients over profits, but we will not stop advocating for our policy priorities to be implemented for the well-being of our nation’s most vulnerable patients.
