In a June 23 "Viewpoint" article titled, "Hospitals Making Hundreds Of Millions Off Program For Poor," Sally Pipes labelled the 340B drug discount program's eligibility criteria slack and indicated hospitals are not making use of the savings appropriately.
In reality, the program is crucial to the fiscally vulnerable safety net that helps millions of needy Americans receive healthcare each year.
The debate pits the drug industry with $329 billion in U.S. profits versus the financially extended not-for-profit and public hospitals that look after millions of poor individuals.
Recently, the dubious price increases for several drugs have received the attention of Congress, state governments, insurance companies and patients. A Bloomberg News database reveals that the price hikes in the U.S. for leading prescriptions have actually significantly outpaced inflation since late 2007.
An IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics analysis discovered "a significant driver of growth in the market was price increases on protected brands, which contributed $20 billion to growth in 2013, up from $15.6 billion in 2012." This does not allow for the much-publicized high prices for new drugs such as Sovaldi for hepatitis.
Against this backdrop of soaring prices, the pharmaceutical industry is seeking to maximize profit margins by reducing accessibility to reduced rate medication and service via the 340B program.
Our lawmakers established the program in 1992 with bipartisan backing to enable health providers that help millions of low-income individuals to acquire discounted medicine from pharmaceutical companies. Consequently, these types of safety-net medical facilities and clinics offer affordable or free medicine to the community.
The program also funds medical clinics for diabetes, HIV/AIDS, cancer, dental and primary care.
The law categorically enables safety-net hospitals to distribute discounted medications to qualified patients and to sell them at negotiated prices to insured patients. Congress meant for these financial savings to maximize funds by improving low reimbursement levels from the Medicare and Medicaid programs to finance the services required to treat the underserved. This mechanism is hardly misuse-- it is precisely the way the program was designed.
To be qualified for the 340B program, a medical facility has to meet the stringent qualification requirements of serving a high percentage of low-income and impaired patients or of being situated in rural areas of the country. These covered entities must annually sign an agreement certifying that they fulfill these requirements.
Our lawmakers, in a bipartisan manner, has broadened the program to additional providers so as to confine the necessity for escalated federal funding in order to sustain the health care safety net. Despite having more Americans insured under the healthcare overhaul, medical facilities that have Medicare and Medicaid programs as their primary payers will certainly struggle to serve the remaining uninsured or underinsured.
www.center-rx.com/340b/340b-drug-discount-program-assists-vulnerable-citizens
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