Exon 20 Group has announced on X that the 340B prescription drug program is not effectively serving its intended beneficiaries, namely low-income and uninsured patients.
Established in 1992, the 340B Drug Pricing Program is administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). It was designed to assist healthcare providers in stretching limited resources to serve vulnerable populations by allowing eligible entities to purchase outpatient drugs at reduced prices. These savings are meant to support access to care for low-income and uninsured patients.
According to the Government Accountability Office, hospitals participating in the 340B program can reinvest savings into services such as medication assistance, expanded care access, and community outreach. However, there is no federal requirement for hospitals to report how they use 340B revenue. This lack of transparency has raised concerns over whether savings are consistently used to benefit low-income patients.
A 2023 analysis by Dan Crippen, former Director of the Congressional Budget Office, estimated that the 340B program reduces state and federal tax revenues by as much as $17 billion annually. The analysis noted that $3.5 billion is lost at the state and local level, with the remainder affecting federal revenue. Crippen also estimated that the total value of 340B discounts reached $70 billion last year.
The Exon 20 Group is a multi-stakeholder global coalition comprising patients, care partners, oncologists, scientists, molecular profiling labs, pharmaceutical companies, and biotech firms. Its mission is to convert exon 20 insertion mutations into chronic diseases and eventually cure them. The organization emphasizes a targeted approach to addressing these specific mutations.
