For the past couple of years, we’ve been deflecting a lot of threats to our health care system from the federal level. As CEO of Sacramento Native American Health Center, a nonprofit providing care to more than 26,000 patients, I am painfully aware of how much is at stake. But now we are facing another…
It is not an easy thing for a Ryan White clinic or community health center to serve the needs of all their clients who are living with or affected by HIV. In fact, in the current political climate where receiving level funding year after year is often the best-case scenario, providing the extensive amount of…
As legislators continued to debate the future of the 340B drug discount program on Wednesday, leaders at several major health systems in both urban and rural settings raised concerns over the serious risks they face if those savings sustain significant cuts. Already, those reductions have forced West Virginia University Medicine—which serves a large, rural population—to “regroup” and…
Two stalwart supporters of the 340B program in Congress appealed today for more help engaging lawmakers and more of the public in efforts to protect the drug discount program. Reps. David McKinley (R-W.V.) and Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) spoke at a May 16 Capitol Hill briefing sponsored by Vizient, a healthcare services company that contracts with…
The 340B discount program for prescription drugs used by safety-net hospitals needs better government oversight, several watchdog agency officials said at a Senate hearing. Although the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which oversees the program, has taken some important steps to improve oversight, “a number of important issues remain,” said Debra Draper, PhD, director…
Lawmakers turned their sharp scrutiny of the 340B program on drugmakers Tuesday, questioning why states and providers don’t know the ceiling prices within the drug discount program. In a hearing Tuesday, members of the Senate health committee asked government watchdogs why the Trump administration has delayed for the fifth time a rule that would set…
Officials from two federal watchdogs told a Senate committee Tuesday that a drug discount program for hospitals needs additional transparency and oversight to effectively monitor participants. The so-called 340B program, which allows safety net hospitals access to discounted drugs for providing uncompensated care, has become a flashpoint between drug manufacturers that claim providers drive up prices by…
About 60 patient and consumer advocates told House and Senate leadership to reject proposals to cut back the number of patients and safety net providers that are eligible for the 340B drug discount program, though the groups say they support transparency in the program. The move comes as lawmakers in both chambers of Congress and…
Congressman John Moolenaar (R-Midland) toured Munson Healthcare Cadillac Hospital recently and met with several members of the leadership team to discuss rural health care issues as well as see first-hand investments being made by the hospital that will directly impact patient care. During the visit, Moolenaar visited the hospital pharmacy where the importance of the…