A Federal Pharmaceutical Program Desperately Needs Tweaking!

[JimofPennsylvan]

Congress and the President should tweak a Federal Government program called the 340B program, named after the Federal statute that created the program, so that it actually helps needy Americans which is the justification for the program! What the 340B program did initially and still does is that it allows hospitals that have a significant number of low income Medicare and Medicaid patients to purchase out-patient drugs at a steep discount from pharmaceutical companies, these companies must give the hospitals a rebate for the amount of price increases over the inflation rate for all the years the respective drug was on the market. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that its investigation found that the typical discount is thirty-five percent off from what hospitals not in the program pay and the amount of purchases by participating hospitals was at least $38 billion in 2021. With the Affordable Care Act the program was opened up to rural hospitals with a lose definition of "rural" resulting in a lot of big city non-profit hospitals now participating. Further, the program allows participating hospitals to pass on this right to a discount on to all their affiliated clinics and offices. This is the big wrinkle with this program a lot of financially strong non-profit participating hospitals are "not" passing on the drug savings to their low and middle income patients. Any person with competent knowledge about the effects of drug prices on Americans knows that the price of drugs often is really a hardship and stings the American consumer and to think financially well-off hospitals are sticking it to their low and middle income patients on drugs when they don't have to because they are paying vastly lower prices for these drugs is unfair and unconscionable. Elected officials in Washington need to get on the job here and protect these vulnerable Americans from this price gouging on drugs, this injustice should make every Americans blood boil! The program could require the participating hospitals to set up a program within this program to identify their low and middle income patients and mandate the discount be passed on to these patients and their insurance companies; but, I think the better outcome because it saves on more administrative expenses on hospitals and most ordinary patients are staggered with the billing effects of healthcare and so many probably won't file the right paperwork to participate all pointing to the better outcome being that the regulations should mandate that all participating hospitals pass on the discount to all their patients and those patients insurance companies!

 

[progressive hunter]

Congress and the President should tweak a Federal Government program called the 340B program, named after the Federal statute that created the program, so that it actually helps needy Americans which is the justification for the program! What the 340B program did initially and still does is that it allows hospitals that have a significant number of low income Medicare and Medicaid patients to purchase out-patient drugs at a steep discount from pharmaceutical companies, these companies must give the hospitals a rebate for the amount of price increases over the inflation rate for all the years the respective drug was on the market. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that its investigation found that the typical discount is thirty-five percent off from what hospitals not in the program pay and the amount of purchases by participating hospitals was at least $38 billion in 2021. With the Affordable Care Act the program was opened up to rural hospitals with a lose definition of "rural" resulting in a lot of big city non-profit hospitals now participating. Further, the program allows participating hospitals to pass on this right to a discount on to all their affiliated clinics and offices. This is the big wrinkle with this program a lot of financially strong non-profit participating hospitals are "not" passing on the drug savings to their low and middle income patients. Any person with competent knowledge about the effects of drug prices on Americans knows that the price of drugs often is really a hardship and stings the American consumer and to think financially well-off hospitals are sticking it to their low and middle income patients on drugs when they don't have to because they are paying vastly lower prices for these drugs is unfair and unconscionable. Elected officials in Washington need to get on the job here and protect these vulnerable Americans from this price gouging on drugs, this injustice should make every Americans blood boil! The program could require the participating hospitals to set up a program within this program to identify their low and middle income patients and mandate the discount be passed on to these patients and their insurance companies; but, I think the better outcome because it saves on more administrative expenses on hospitals and most ordinary patients are staggered with the billing effects of healthcare and so many probably won't file the right paperwork to participate all pointing to the better outcome being that the regulations should mandate that all participating hospitals pass on the discount to all their patients and those patients insurance companies!

no they shouldnt,,

not the job of the feds,,