Ted Okon, executive director of the Community Oncology Alliance, said on May 8 that a Wall Street Journal editorial accurately described what he views as misuse of the federal 340B drug discount program by large hospitals. “A great way to describe this run-away government program. Hospitals and their CEOs rake in the profits while patients in need go without the benefit of the drug discounts,” in a post on X.
The 340B program was created by Congress in 1992 to help entities serving lower-income and uninsured patients stretch their resources. The program requires drug manufacturers to sell outpatient drugs at discounted prices to covered entities, but the discounts go to the entities rather than directly to patients, according to JAMA Health Forum.
A Wall Street Journal editorial criticized the 340B program as a revenue stream for hospitals and pharmacies. The editorial said 340B drug purchases increased from $6.9 billion in 2012 to $81 billion in 2024, according to The Wall Street Journal.
At an October 2025 Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee hearing, Chairman Bill Cassidy said the 340B program had “ballooned with limited oversight.” Cassidy also questioned how 340B revenue is used and whether it directly benefits low-income patients, according to the Senate HELP Committee.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office identified remaining weaknesses in federal oversight of the 340B program. GAO said audit closure processes do not ensure all noncompliance has been fully addressed, audits do not fully assess compliance with duplicate-discount rules, and oversight does not ensure only eligible hospitals participate, according to GAO.
The Community Oncology Alliance is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization controlled by community oncologists. Okon serves as the organization’s executive director, according to the Community Oncology Alliance.
