Ted Okon, executive director of the Community Oncology Alliance, said 340B discounts should go to patients in need rather than wealthy hospital systems and for-profit PBMs, which he said Congress never intended to profit from the program.
"340B discounts should go to patients in need, not wealthy hospital systems," Okon wrote on X. "Congress never intended hospitals, and now corporate PBMs, from profiting off of 340B."
An Avalere analysis conducted for the Community Oncology Alliance found that 69 percent of 340B contract pharmacies are associated with a pharmacy benefit manager through either vertical integration or a contractual arrangement. Specialty pharmacies and mail-order pharmacies associated with these corporations account for 29 percent of all contract pharmacy arrangements, even though those sites represent just over 1 percent of all contract pharmacies, according to Oncology News Central.
The Community Oncology Alliance filed its fifth amicus brief in 340B contract pharmacy litigation in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, providing evidence that the program is being exploited by PBMs to extract profit at the expense of patients in need. The organization argued that a rebate model would allow better accountability through improved tracking and reporting, noting that one contract pharmacy employed by Oklahoma providers is located in Honolulu, Hawaii—thousands of miles away—demonstrating how PBMs steer prescriptions to affiliated pharmacies for profit rather than patient convenience, according to COA.
Senate HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy released a legislative discussion draft to reform the 340B Drug Pricing Program. He cited recent high-profile examples of 340B hospitals directing resources to wealthy areas while reducing services in low-income communities and noted that Congress has not reformed the program since passage of the Affordable Care Act fifteen years ago. Cassidy is seeking stakeholder feedback on his proposal by August 28, according to the U.S. Senate HELP Committee.
Okon leads the Community Oncology Alliance as executive director; he is recognized nationally on cancer care policy and frequently works with lawmakers on issues affecting community oncology practices across the country, according to COA.
