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…
East Alabama Medical Center (EAMC) is an invaluable source of health care for some of the neediest members of our community. We are a Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) – a federal designation reflecting EAMC’s treatment of a large percentage of indigent patients, many of whom are uninsured or underinsured. In fact, more than 60 percent…
Community health centers such as First Choice Health Centers in East Hartford, Manchester and Vernon provide consistent, preventive care that keeps people healthy and productive, regardless of ability to pay. We keep our patients from making costly emergency room visits for non-emergency issues, and provide cost-effective behavioral health, primary care and dental care. One vital…
The Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (VMC) and the County’s entire health and hospital system are facing a potentially catastrophic loss of funding under a pair of proposals currently being considered in Sacramento and Washington. The amount of money at stake ranges from $60 million a year to potentially more than $130 million. The funding…
Right now, policy developments in Washington, D.C., are placing rural North Dakota hospitals and other healthcare providers at significant risk of shutting down, choking off healthcare access for thousands of patients in rural communities who have few other options. In January, an agency in Washington, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, issued a troublesome…
The soaring cost of prescription drugs threatens access to life-saving medications for millions of people across the country and thousands of Hoosiers here at home. For these vulnerable patients, safety net health care providers — supported by the 340B Drug Pricing Program — make all the difference. Established in 1992, the 340B program requires pharmaceutical…
The debate over the future of the 340B drug pricing program has reached a critical new phase. Several members of Congress introduced legislation that would make dramatic changes in the 26-year-old statute, Congress is holding hearings on the program and the Trump administration has offered new proposals in its fiscal 2019 budget. Some have questioned…
Two things are true now, more than ever before: health care is expensive and prescription drug prices are sky-high. Indiana residents — especially those in rural areas, who have to travel long distances for a doctor — are struggling to seek treatment and afford medication. This is why the little-known 340B Drug Pricing Program has…