Bipartisan Group of 28 U.S. Senators Ask Azar to Halt Recent Pharma 340B Actions Immediately
Twenty eight U.S. senators—15 Democrats, 12 Republicans, and an independent—wrote to U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar today to urge the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) “to take immediate and appropriate enforcement action” to halt “recent actions from pharmaceutical manufacturers that threaten to undermine the role of contract pharmacies in the 340B drug pricing program.”
Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.), the Senate’s second-highest ranking Republican, and five other senators—Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), and Ben Cardin (D-Md.)—led the effort. In July, the same six senators jointly sponsored bipartisan legislation to protect hospitals from losing 340B eligibility during the COVID-19 pandemic due to changes in patient mix.