Hospitals Slam Proposal to Deepen Medicare Payment Cuts for 340B Drugs
National hospital associations slammed the Trump administration’s proposal Tuesday to deepen Medicare Part B drug reimbursement cuts for 340B hospitals, saying the move would defy congressional intent and threaten patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Administrator Seema Verma of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), whose agency wants to cut 340B hospital Part B drug payments by 6.2 percent below the current average sales price (ASP) minus 22.5 percent rate, calls it “part of [the President Trump’s] commitment to lowering drug prices.” CMS and the administration say reducing 340B hospitals’ Part B drug payments reduces Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket drug costs, which are pegged to the hospital payments. Hospitals argue that patients are not benefiting since most already have their co-pays waived and the payments are offset with higher payments in other parts of the Medicare system.
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