Drug Pricing Is Heating Up in Congress Again

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) chaired today's Senate HELP subcommittee hearing on why the United States pays the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs.

A few years ago, there was hope that congressional Democrats and Republicans and the Trump administration would unite and enact legislation addressing the high price of prescription drugs.

It never happened. House Democrats passed a far-ranging drug pricing bill in

Read More »

Becerra Expected To Usher in Sea Change to 340B Governance

With Xavier Becerra in place as HHS secretary, 340B providers are hopeful he will act fast and decisively against drug manufacturers that have either stopped providing 340B discounts or placed restrictions on 340B pricing in the contract pharmacy setting. | Shutterstock

Updated, Friday, March 19, 9:30 a.m. EDT—After what initially appeared to be a rocky path to confirmation and a deadlocked vote in the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) was confirmed today, by a 50-49 vote,

Read More »

Six Senators Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Protect 340B Hospitals From COVID Fallout

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) his and his six Senate colleagues' bipartisan bill "would ensure that no hospital that is currently participating in the 340B program can lose eligibility due to a reduction in hospitalizations during the pandemic." | C-SPAN

A bipartisan group of six U.S. senators on Tuesday reintroduced legislation from the last session of Congress to protect hospitals from losing eligibility for 340B drug discounts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Five of the six types of hospitals that can

Read More »

Sanders Holding Senate Hearing on Drug Prices Next Week

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) a Senate Democratic letter to PhRMA last September decrying drug companies' denials of and conditions on 340B contract pharmacy drugs. | C-SPAN

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has scheduled a hearing next Tuesday of the U.S. Senate health subcommittee he chairs on why the United States pays the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and

Read More »

COVID Relief Bill With Implications for 340B Set to Become Law Tomorrow

The U.S. House voted 220-211 yesterday on final approval of a major COVID-19 relief bill. | C-SPAN

The U.S. House on Wednesday passed and sent to President Biden a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief and economic recovery bill with provisions affecting the 340B program and its participants. Biden will sign the bill at the White House tomorrow.

The

Read More »

COVID-19 Relief Bill Includes Many Provisions Affecting 340B Providers

A screen capture of the Congressional Record for March 5 documenting the Senate's passage of nearly $2 trillion in pandemic relief.

The U.S. Senate voted 50 to 49 along party lines early Saturday morning to approve an amended version of the House’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. According to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s (D-Md.) office, the House could vote on

Read More »

Senator Cassidy Again Cites 340B in Opposing Becerra for HHS Secretary

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) yesterday criticized HHS Secretary-designate Xavier Becerra's lack of familiarity with 340B before voting in the Finance Committee against reporting Becerra's nomination favorably to the full Senate.

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee yesterday split 14-14 along party lines on whether to favorably report California Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s nomination to serve as U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary to the full Senate.

There is a 50-50

Read More »

Orphan Drug Study’s Authors Say Findings May Warrant Lifting 340B Exemption

Humira, one of the 15 partial orphan drugs examined in the new study in Health Affairs, had $13.7 billion in sales in 2018.

More than 70 percent of U.S. spending on top-selling “partial orphan drugs”—drugs for rare diseases that also are approved to treat common diseases—is for non-orphan indications, a study in latest edition of Health Affairs concludes.

Makers of partial orphan drugs

Read More »

Senate Democrats Soften, But Don’t Yank, COVID Relief Bill’s Medicaid Rebate Language

In a concession to drug companies, Senate Democrats reportedly have agreed to delay by one year—from Jan. 1, 2023 to Jan. 1, 2024—the effective date of language in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that might lead to 340B ceiling

Read More »

340B Providers Cheer Bipartisan House Letter to HHS on Manufacturer Actions

Safety-net hospitals, health centers, and HIV/AIDS clinics yesterday applauded the 226 U.S. representatives—more than half of the House’s members—who signed Friday’s bipartisan letter to U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Acting Secretary Norris Cochran seeking “immediate action to ensure that

Read More »
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
×
×

*Sign up for news summaries and alerts from 340B Report

Site Footer Live