The U.S. Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA), the department within the U.S Health and Resources Administration that oversees the 340B program, would receive a $2 million increase in funding under a bill that passed through a major House committee last week.
The bill would provide OPA with $13.2 million for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, a $2 million increase over this fiscal year’s level. It would be the agency’s first increase in several years. The Biden administration asked for $17 million for OPA in March.
The U.S. House Appropriations Committee approved on June 30 a $242.1 billion fiscal 2023 spending bill for health care and other domestic programs. The spending level is a 13 percent jump for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the other agencies included in the annual bill.
“Use Any Available Measures” To Discipline Rx Makers
As 340B Report previously reported, the committee report that explains the bill expressed members’ concerns about the growing number of drug manufacturers “that curtail the use of 340B drugs in contract pharmacies.” It encouraged HRSA to use “any available measures,” including imposing civil monetary penalties, “to hold those drug manufacturers in violation of the law directly accountable.”
