The Community Oncology Alliance said the 340B Drug Pricing Program should support patients rather than large hospital systems and that policymakers must pursue structural changes to restore the program to its original intent.
According to the Community Oncology Alliance, "340B should support patients, not large hospital systems. Policymakers must pursue structural changes to restore the program to its original intent."
COA states that 340B drug discounts should follow the patient, not the institution, with the value flowing directly to patients through lower cost sharing, financial assistance, transportation support, and medication access. The organization notes that hospitals are under no obligation to pass discounts on to patients and that a 2022 analysis found 65 percent of 340B disproportionate share hospitals provide less than the national average in charity care, according to COA.
The group also said that the 340B program has grown exponentially and mutated far beyond its original intent, creating perverse financial incentives for hospitals that significantly deviate from the original mission of the program. The profit incentive of 340B has fueled consolidation of the nation's cancer care system, driving independent community oncology practices to close or merge with hospital systems, according to COA.
Medicare payments for drugs purchased under the 340B Drug Pricing Program would be realigned to reflect what hospitals actually pay to acquire them, reducing total drug spending by approximately $5.7 billion in 2027 alone under a proposed rule announced July 2 by CMS. The agency is proposing to pay for 340B-acquired drugs at the average sales price minus 33.4 percent, down from the current rate of average sales price plus 6 percent, according to CMS.
The Community Oncology Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated solely to advocating for community oncology practices and their patients, where most Americans with cancer are treated. According to COA, it is the only organization focused exclusively on community oncology.
