Year: 2021

AHA Asks CMS to Rein In UHC’s Specialty Pharmacy Policies

February 11, 2021 Tom Mirga, Editor at Large Views

The American Hospital Association says UnitedHealthcare's Specialty pharmacy coverage policies undermine the 340B program's intent. | Shutterstock

The American Hospital Association (AHA) last week told the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that insurance company UnitedHealthcare’s (UHC) specialty pharmacy coverage policies “undermine the intent of the 340B program” and should be disallowed.

In a Feb.

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Biden Administration Position in Supreme Court ACA Case Has 340B Implications

February 11, 2021 Tom Mirga, Editor at Large Views

340B hospitals’ Medicare Part B payment challenge is not the only Supreme Court case next term that will impact the 340B program.

The Biden administration late yesterday told the U.S. Supreme Court that, due to the change in the presidency, the federal government has changed its main position in the lawsuit over the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) constitutionality. The government now says

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Drug Manufacturers GSK and Esperion Offering Refunds for 340B Overcharges

February 11, 2021 Tom Mirga, Editor at Large Views

Glaxo Smith Kline has notified 340B covered entities about the availability of refunds for overcharges early in 2019. | Shutterstock

Drug manufacturer Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) yesterday notified 340B covered entities on the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) website that it is offering refunds for overcharges on about two dozen NDCs during the first quarter of 2019.

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Health Centers to Begin Receiving COVID-19 Vaccines Directly

February 11, 2021 Tom Mirga, Editor at Large Views

The National Association of Community Health Centers said its members have already begun vaccinating priority populations against the SARS-Cov-2 virus that causes COVID-19. | Shutterstock

As soon as Monday, some federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) will be able to start ordering COVID-19 vaccines for administration to patients, under a “community health centers vaccination program” announced Tuesday by the Biden administration.

The administration said in

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Burr Named Ranking Republican On Committee with 340B Oversight

February 11, 2021 Tom Mirga, Editor at Large Views

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) succeeds retired senator Lamar Alexander as the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate HELP Committee.

As expected, U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) on Tuesday was formally named the highest-ranking Republican member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee, the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the 340B program.

“As Ranking Member of the

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Court Hearing Today on Hospitals’ 340B Contract Pharmacy Suit Against HHS

February 9, 2021 Tom Mirga, Editor at Large Views

A group of Texas hospitals urged a federal court to grant their request for a summary judgement—or at minimum preliminary relief—in a case challenging an HHS rule.

A federal district judge in Oakland, Calif., is scheduled to hold a hearing this afternoon on the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Department’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit against it by 340B hospitals over HHS’s enforcement of its 340B

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Welch and McKinley Will Try Again to Get Rural and Cancer Hospitals 340B Pricing on Orphan Drugs

February 9, 2021 Tom Mirga, Editor at Large Views

U.S. Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), left, and David McKinley (R-W.Va.) have reintroduced their bill to give 340B rural and free-standing cancer hospitals access to 340B pricing on orphan drugs. | Source: C-SPAN

U.S. Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and David McKinley (R-W.Va.) have reintroduced bipartisan legislation in the U.S. House to give 340B rural and free-standing cancer hospitals access to 340B pricing on orphan drugs—which according to a 2019 study are 25

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Failed Amendment to Federal Budget Bill Could Have Required All Providers to Pass 340B Savings on Insulin to Patients

February 9, 2021 Tom Mirga, Editor at Large Views

Sen. Larry Cramer's (R-N.D.) amendment apparently might have required all covered entities, not just health centers, to pass along 340B savings to patients on insulin, injectable epinephrine, or other products. | Source: C-SPAN

A second Republican 340B-related amendment, regarding what covered entities could charge patients for insulin, was offered and then tabled in the U.S. Senate late last week to a budget bill linked to Democrats’ forthcoming COVID-19 relief package.

Sen. Kevin Cramer’s

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Calif. Health Centers Ask Newsom to Delay Medi-Cal Drug Benefit Shift Until 2022

February 9, 2021 Tom Mirga, Editor at Large Views

California health centers have asked Gov. Gavin Newsom to delay the transfer of Medicaid managed care drug benefits to Medicaid fee for service until next year.

California health centers asked Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Friday to delay implementing his controversial transfer of Medicaid drug benefits from managed care to fee for service until January 2022, to let health centers “focus on the needs of their

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Generic Drug Manufacturer Hikma Providing Credits for 340B Overcharges

February 9, 2021 Tom Mirga, Editor at Large Views

Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA, the U.S. division of U.K.-based generic drug manufacturer Hikma Pharmaceuticals plc, is crediting 340B covered entities for overcharges on a long list of NDCs from the fourth quarter of 2017 through the fourth quarter of 2020.

The

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