A new bill proposed last week by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) seeks to foster greater accountability among participants in the federal government’s section 340B prescription drug discount program.

The three-page bill is called the Ensuring the Value of the 340B Program Act of 2018, and according to a news release from the senator, its purpose is to require

…participating hospitals to report the total acquisition costs for drugs collected through the 340B program, as well as revenues received from all third party papers for those same drugs.

The 340B program provides discounts on prescription drugs dispensed on an outpatient basis to hospitals that qualify for participation based on how many low-income patients they serve.

Grassley’s proposal is the fourth 340B bill introduced in Congress in recent months as the program continues to draw attention from lawmakers.

Virtually all private safety-net hospitals participate in the 340B program and consider it an essential tool in serving the large numbers of low-income patients in the communities in which they are located.

Go here to see Grassley’s news release about his proposal and here to see the bill itself.