Congress Is Close to Passing a Spending Bill that Likely Will Address Hospitals’ Loss of 340B Eligibility During Pandemic

Legislation addressing hospitals’ loss of eligibility for 340B drug discounts due to COVID-19-related changes in payer mix could reach President Biden before Friday at midnight. The language would not be as beneficial to such hospitals as standalone bipartisan bills in the House and Senate.

The 340B legislation is expected be included in a fiscal year 2022 omnibus appropriations bill that Congress is hammering out. Lawmakers have not passed any of the 12 appropriations bills for the year that began Oct. 1. Spending has been continued under a series of stopgap bills. The last of these expires at the end of the day March 11.