Half (50 percent) of a sample of health care industry C-suite executives surveyed last month expect the Biden administration to “formally obligate drug manufacturers to offer 340B pricing,” consulting firm Advis reports in its first health care industry leadership survey of 2021. Advis posed the question amid headlines about drug manufacturers denying or placing conditions on 340B pricing on their products dispensed by contract pharmacies.
Forty-two percent of the 140 executives that Advis surveyed said they expect the new administration to “expand 340B eligibility to more patients, pharmacies, and healthcare entity types.” Forty-one percent expect Biden to “create new, comprehensive 340B program rules and regulations to address current ambiguities.” The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) says that, due to its lack of comprehensive regulatory authority over 340B, its power to enforce certain program policies is limited.
The executives appear to be less optimistic that Biden will “eliminate 340B Medicare reimbursement reductions” (21 percent). The Trump administration reduced 340B hospitals’ Part B drug reimbursement by nearly 30 percent reduction.
Only 9 percent of the executives surveyed expect Biden to make “no major change” to the 340B program.
Advis, which gives health systems and other providers strategic advice on 340B and other matters, periodically invites current and former clients and other company contacts to take web-based surveys on timely topics in health care.
The survey also found:
- Thirty percent of the executives say health care legislation should focus first on reducing drug prices. Expanding the Affordable Care Act came in second (24 percent).
- Nearly half (48 percent) disfavor eliminating the U.S. Senate’s filibuster rule.
- Apart from efforts to gain control of the COVID-19, 50 percent think a Biden-proposed, Medicare-like public health insurance option is likely to be enacted, whether by legislation, executive action, or other means. Only 36 percent expect enactment of a Biden-proposed initiative to let consumers buy prescription drugs from overseas.
- Regarding surprise billing, 37 percent expect the new administration and Congress to require health care providers to make all service costs publicly available and searchable.
The survey report is available at https://advis.com/advis-in-the-news/survey-jan-2021/.
