Category: Legislative

Connecticut Governor’s First of Its Kind Three-Pronged 340B Bill Passes Hurdle in Legislature

March 21, 2023 Tom Mirga Editor at Large Views

Connecticut House of Representatives chamber

The Connecticut House might vote soon on a bill to require hospital reporting on 340B revenue, prohibit drug maker restrictions on 340B contract pharmacy use, and prohibit pharmacy benefit manager discrimination against 340B entities and pharmacies.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s novel bill to require hospital reporting on 340B revenue, prohibit drug maker restrictions on 340B contract pharmacy use, and prohibit pharmacy benefit manager discrimination against 340B entities and pharmacies has passed its first test in the

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U.S. House Subcommittee Could Discuss 340B on Two Consecutive Days This Month

March 16, 2023 Tom Mirga Editor at Large Views

The House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee will review a draft drug shortages bill with 340B program implications.

U.S. House Republicans yesterday asked Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to testify March 29 about the Biden administration’s health care budget request.

Becerra will appear before the Energy & Commerce health subcommittee the day after it

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HRSA Wants Reporting Requirements on Use of 340B Savings and Compliance and Reporting Requirements on Use of Contract Pharmacies

March 14, 2023 Tom Mirga Editor at Large Views

HRSA confirmed it will end a pandemic-era waiver program that allowed 340B drug use in certain offsite hospital locations.

The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration has asked Congress for general rulemaking authority over the 340B program so it can establish “reporting requirements and definitions for the use of [340B] savings and contract pharmacy utilization.”

The Biden administration made

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340B Stakeholders Testify on Conn. Governor’s First-of-Its-Kind Multi-Pronged 340B Legislation

March 14, 2023 Laura Gilcrest Contributor Views

Connecticut lawmakers heard testimony yesterday on Gov. Ned Lamont’s (D) bill addressing hospitals' 340B revenue, pharma restrictions on 340B contract pharmacy use, and PBM discrimination against 340B entities.

Connecticut 340B stakeholders testified at a state legislative hearing Monday on Gov. Ned Lamont’s (D) comprehensive bill to require hospital reporting on 340B revenue, prohibit drug maker restrictions on 340B contract pharmacy use, and prohibit pharmacy benefit manager discrimination against

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Some Provider Groups Slam NACHC and PhRMA’s 340B Plan, Others Say They’re Studying it

March 10, 2023 Tom Mirga Editor at Large Views

Lt. Cmdr. Emeka Egwim (left), Director of HRSA's Office of Pharmacy Affairs, spoke this morning on 340B Day at NACHC's annual Policy & Issues Forum in Washington, D.C.

A large HIV/AIDS health care group, a Democratic 340B provider ally in Congress, and three national hospital groups lambasted community health centers and drug makers’ historic announcement yesterday that they are working together to remake the 340B program. Other 340B

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U.S. House Subcommittee Expected to Raise 340B During March 28 Hearing

March 9, 2023 Tom Mirga Editor at Large Views

Provider groups criticized draft legislation to address drug shortages from the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

The Republican-led U.S. House Energy & Commerce health subcommittee late yesterday announced a March 28 hearing on “how transparency and competition can lower health care costs for Americans.”

Although the hearing announcement is silent about the 340B program it

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Major Drug Industry and Health Center Groups Unite to Reform 340B for Patients and “True” Safety-Net Providers

March 9, 2023 Tom Mirga Editor at Large Views

PhRMA, NACHC, and and the National Hispanic Medical Association created a new group, ASAP 340B, and issued a 10-point plan to ensure that the 340B program “benefits patients and true safety-net providers, including rural hospitals.”

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the National Association of Community Health Centers, and the National Hispanic Medical Association this morning jointly issued a 10-point plan and created a nonprofit group to ensure that the 340B program “benefits patients and

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U.S. House Oversight Committee Launches PBM Investigation

March 9, 2023 Laura Gilcrest Contributor Views

A U.S. House committee is investigating “anticompetitive tactics” by Express Scripts, CVS Caremark, and OptumRx.

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability last week launched an investigation into how “anticompetitive tactics” by the three largest pharmacy benefit managers—Express Scripts, CVS Caremark, and OptumRx—are driving up healthcare costs and hurting patient care within federal health

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NACHC Hill Day Document Calls for 340B Reform and Offers Guiding Principles, Key Hill Staffer Joins Organization

March 7, 2023 Tom Mirga Editor at Large Views

NACHC image of core principles for 340B reform

“Health centers and their patients cannot afford more [contract pharmacy] restrictions or PBM discriminatory contracting," NACHC says in document urging Congress "to amend the 340B statute to protect access for the true safety-net providers.”

The National Association of Community Health Centers says in a new advocacy document “it’s time to reform the 340B program to recognize the complexities of today’s healthcare system and ensure that true safety-net providers continue to have access to critical

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340B Raised Often During Senate Hearing on Community Health Centers

March 2, 2023 Tom Mirga Editor at Large Views

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) asked a witness during a hearing if she was open to 340B reforms to ensure that 340B savings “are not going to build a chandelier in a hospital et cetera.”

The 340B program—and whether it needs change, protection, or both—came up often today during a U.S. Senate hearing on federal funding of community health centers.

The bulk of health centers’ federal grant funding—about $5.8 billion annually from the U.S. Health

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