U.S. Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and David McKinley (R-W.Va.) have reintroduced bipartisan legislation in the U.S. House to give 340B rural and free-standing cancer hospitals access to 340B pricing on orphan drugs—which according to a 2019 study are 25 times more expensive than traditional drugs and cost U.S. patients an annual average of $186,758 in 2017.
Welch has co-sponsored the Closing Loopholes for Orphan Drugs Act with different GOP colleagues since 2016. He teamed up with Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) during the 114th Congress, Rep. Greg Harper (R-Miss.) during the 115th Congress, and McKinley during the last session. Welch and McKinley are senior members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee which has jurisdiction over the 340B program. McKinley has been a particularly active proponent of 340B provider-friendly causes.
U.S. Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and David McKinley (R-W.Va.) have reintroduced bipartisan legislation in the U.S. House to give 340B rural and free-standing cancer hospitals access to 340B pricing on orphan drugs—which according to a 2019 study are 25 times more expensive than traditional drugs and cost U.S. patients an annual average of $186,758 in 2017.
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