CER Daily Newsfeed

340B Program Growth Is Associated With Billions in Additional Employer and Employee Insurance Premium Expenses

(5/8, National Pharmaceutical Council Press Release) “Growth in the 340B Drug Pricing Program is estimated to cost U.S. workers and their employers about $23 billion per year in higher employer-based insurance premiums, according to a new white paper published by Health Capital Group and the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC)...‘When employers are paying high prices for medicines purchased through 340B, it causes a ripple effect for commercially insured Americans,’ said [NPC’s Jon D. Campbell, PhD]. ‘Employers lose some of their negotiated rebates when prescriptions are filled as 340B eligible, and those costs are paid by employers and employees in the form of higher premiums.’” Full

National Survey Shows a Vast Majority of Americans Want Comprehensive Reform of the 340B Drug Pricing Program

(5/8, National Consumers League Press Release) “Today, the National Consumers League (NCL) released results from a new Morning Consult national poll of more than 10,000 American adults, revealing overwhelming concern about the burden of medical debt and strong public demand for comprehensive reforms of the 340B Drug Pricing Program. Nearly four in five surveyed adults (78%) support establishing requirements to ensure that qualifying patients directly benefit from 340B drug discounts through reduced out-of-pocket prescription drug costs. More than three in four surveyed adults (77%) believe hospitals should be required to pass 340B savings directly onto patients. The national poll also found that: 54% of surveyed adults currently have or previously had medical debt, with those in rural areas and the South disproportionately affected. Among adults who have experienced medical debt, more than half (54%) reported skipping additional needed medical care due to cost. Three in four surveyed adults (76%) expressed concern that hospitals benefiting from 340B drug discounts often pursue aggressive debt collection practices against patients. A majority of polled adults strongly supported proposed reforms of the 340B program, including policies to ensure qualifying patients benefit directly from 340B through reduced out-of-pocket costs, allow audits on how hospitals and pharmacies are using the 340B program, and add a requirement that 340B hospitals share a portion of the savings they generate with qualifying 340B patients.” Full