In a newly released report, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) has pointed to problems with the 340B Drug Pricing Program and suggested ways of dealing with those problems.

The report, from the committee’s majority staff, notes that

… there are concerns about whether the 340B Program truly benefits low-income and uninsured patients, with some studies suggesting that the 340B benefit does not translate into increased care or lower costs for vulnerable populations. 

It also outlines potential changes for improving the program, including requiring additional reporting on the use of 340B savings, scrutiny of contract pharmacy arrangements, and potential legislative changes for defining eligible patients and the inventory replenishment model used by contract pharmacies.

The 340B program is vital to community safety-net hospitals such as those that are part of the Alliance of Safety-Net Hospitals, a major tool in helping them obtain discounted prescription drugs to dispense to especially low-income outpatients.

Learn more about what Senator Cassidy has found and what he recommends from this news release and the full report “Congress Must Act to bring Needed Reforms to the 340B Drug Pricing Program,” which includes nearly 150 pages of responses to HELP Committee inquiries from health systems, federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), contract pharmacies, and pharmaceutical companies.