The federal government should withdraw its proposal to drastically reduce Medicare payments for prescription drugs covered by the section 340B prescription drug discount program, NAUH has told the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

CMS has proposed a 28 percent cut in those payments beginning in 2018.

According to NAUH, the savings hospitals enjoy from 340B discounts enable them to expand the scope of the services they offer to their low-income patients and engage in additional community outreach.  This was the very reason Congress created the program, NAUH told CMS, and reducing 340B payments now would reduce those savings, undermine the purpose of the program, redistribute the savings among hospitals serving patients with fewer needs, and not save taxpayers any money while also not doing anything to reduce the cost of prescription drugs.

Most private safety-net hospitals participate in and benefit from the 340B program.

Go here to see NAUH’s letter to CMS presenting these arguments.