New reports from pharmacy giant Janssen and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) suggest that the pharma sector could be making the 340B program an even bigger target than it has been in recent years.
Janssen’s report is
…340B hospitals provide “a significantly higher average number” of medication access (MA) services—such as free or discounted drugs or free delivery—than comparably sized non-340B hospitals, a new academic study shows.
The study was conducted by the University of Illinois Chicago
…A study published online by Health Affairs yesterday on nonprofit hospitals’ provision of charity care could renew drug manufacturers’ calls for more control over those hospitals’ participation in the 340B program.
Professors and scientists at The Johns Hopkins University used
…Medicare Part B drug payments to 340B hospitals “declined substantially” in 2019 because the payment status of “an unusually high number of drugs” changed that year, congressional Medicare advisers said in a report yesterday.
The change—from “pass-through status” to “separately
…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
…The ability to generate profits through the 340B program prompts hospitals to buy physician practices and shift delivery of care to more costly hospital outpatient settings, driving up drug costs for patients and employers, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
…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
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