The spokesperson for a national health reform group said evidence shows hospitals are "not passing along the discounted drug prices" under the federal 340b drug discount program.
"Low-income patients count on this program to lower the costs of their medicines, but there is plenty of evidence that hospitals are not passing along the discounted drug prices," Kasia Mulligan, national spokesperson for Patients Come First (PCF), told Patient Daily. "For someone who may be living paycheck to paycheck or has to pay for multiple medicines for themselves or a family member, unexpected or growing costs could make the difference in them picking up that medicine or skipping it to save money."
"This could have serious implications for the millions of Americans trying to improve their health or survive a serious diagnosis," said Mulligan.
PCF is a national advocacy group focused on eliminating barriers to care and improving medical innovation, particularly for individuals with chronic illnesses.
Mulligan's comments are in response to comments by the head of the National Consumers League (NCL), who said the 340b program has “poor oversight and transparency” and has been “hijacked by hospitals and contract pharmacies.”
“The program has grown exponentially without a clear statutory purpose or transparency and accountability, and in our view, from the consumer perspective, it has been, for lack of a better word, kind of hijacked by hospitals and contract pharmacies,” Sally Greenberg, CEO of NCL, said on NCL’s “We Can Do This!” Podcast. “And what it’s done is instead of passing along these deep discounts to patients because of poor oversight and transparency, what we're finding instead is that these big entities, the hospitals, the contract pharmacies, and others in the system are pocketing huge numbers of profits.”
“And as a result, patients are not getting the discounts that were originally intended,” said Greenberg.
In an X post promoting the podcast episode, NCL said the 340b program has “grown from $54 billion to $124 billion in 6 years, with profits going to middlemen instead of patients in financial need.”
Established in 1992 and administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) the program aims to provide financial relief to healthcare providers serving vulnerable populations, allowing them to stretch their scarce resources and reach more eligible patients.
Hospitals participating in the 340B program can use the savings to fund essential services and programs, such as free or low-cost medication assistance, expanded access to healthcare, and community outreach initiatives.
Participating hospitals, however, “often extend their 340B discounts to clinics in well-off communities, where they can charge privately insured patients more than those on Medicaid,” reported the Wall Street Journal.
Founded in 1899, NCL is a nonprofit organization founded in 1899 that focuses on fraud prevention, food safety, and advocacy for union workers.
Greenberg has been the CEO of NCL since 2007. She has a background in law and public policy and previously served as Senior Product Safety Counsel at Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports. She is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center.
