In the wake of a pharmaceutical company seeking to circumvent the established manner in which the federal section 340B prescription drug discount program works, the Alliance of Safety-Net Hospitals has asked members of the House of Representatives to sign onto a House letter to Health and Human Servvices Secretary Xavier Becerra asking him to intervene and prevent what ASH called the company’s “…assault on the 340B program.”

Pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson recently announced that rather than offering discounts to eligible 340B providers – including all disproportionate share (DSH) and community safety-net hospitals – as has long been 340B program practice, it would instead require those providers to pay full price for two of its drugs, forcing those providers to lay out more money for their purchases, and then – later – refund part of their payments as a rebate.

In making its request that House members sign the letter, ASH argues that Johnson & Johnson’s plan

… threatens the ability of community safety-net hospitals to continue meeting the prescription drug needs of their eligible low-income patients, as the program has done successfully since its launch in 1992.

Learn more about the controversy from the Healthcare Dive article “J&J plans unilateral reform to 340B drug discount program” and the response of community safety-net hospitals from ASH’s request of House members.