Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network, is urging New York lawmakers to oppose expanding the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program without new accountability measures to ensure savings reach low-income patients.
“Originally created as a safety net, 340B has instead become a profit net for conglomerate hospital systems and national chain pharmacies,” Sharpton wrote in an opinion piece published in the New York Daily News. “Now the New York state Senate is advancing legislation to dramatically expand the program with no new accountability measures no efforts to shine a light on where the money is going and no guarantee that a single additional dollar will reach patient pockets."
“Meanwhile in Harlem and at National Action Network chapters across the state I’ve heard from countless patients who have lost their neighborhood pharmacy and are now choosing between groceries and a monthly prescription,” he added. "Legislators can continue letting for-profit interests exploit a program built for the poor or they can close the loopholes demand transparency and ensure 100% of 340B savings are used to serve the neediest patients not pad balance sheets."
The 340B Drug Pricing Program was established by Congress in 1992 to allow eligible safety-net providers serving low-income and uninsured patients to purchase outpatient drugs at discounted prices.
Patients Rising reported that New York’s 340B hospitals provide charity care equal to 1.91% of operating expenses, below the national average of 2.15%. The group also found that New York-Presbyterian provides charity care equal to 0.97% of operating expenses.
Data from the Health Resources and Services Administration shows 340B covered entities purchased a record $81.4 billion in outpatient drugs in 2024, a 23% increase from 2023. Disproportionate share hospitals accounted for $64.1 billion of those purchases, or about 78% of the total.
According to the McSilver Institute at New York University, Al Sharpton is the founder and president of the National Action Network, a civil rights organization that operates over 100 chapters across the country. Sharpton has spent decades advocating on issues affecting low-income communities and uses multiple platforms to highlight policies impacting underserved patients and neighborhoods.
