June 22, 2010 - U.S. Senate leaders are weighing their options after failing to garner the 60 votes necessary to secure passage of a jobs and tax bill that would create a new discount program for drugs administered or dispensed to hospital inpatients lacking insurance. Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, today released his third version of the … [Read more...]
CMS Begins Mailing Checks to Medicare Part D Enrollees in Coverage Gap
Subsidies will begin easing pressure on 340B providers that have been picking up beneficiaries' drug costs.June 10, 2010 - In a welcome development for 340B providers and their patients, the federal government begins mailing $250 checks today to elderly people caught in the Medicare Part D drug benefit's coverage gap, better known as the "donut hole." Closing the gap was a key element of the health care reform law signed by President Obama in late March. Enrollees in Medicare … [Read more...]
340B Providers Concerned About Grifols-Talecris Merger
Announcement came the same day as Baxter voluntarily withdrew GammaGard from market for safety reasons.June 8, 2010 - Spanish blood-plasma products company Grifols agreed yesterday to buy its American rival Talecris in a $3.4 billion deal that might draw the attention of federal anti-trust regulators. The merger was announced on the same day that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Baxter BioScience announced a voluntary recall of two lots of the Baxter intravenous … [Read more...]
House Lifts 340B Orphan-Drug Ban for Children’s Hospitals
Senate expected to take measure up after week-long Memorial Day recess.May 28, 2010 - The U.S. House took a first step today toward repealing the provision in the new health reform law that prohibits certain 340B covered entities from buying "orphan" drugs at a discount. The House passed the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 (H.R. 4213), which contains a provision lifting the orphan-drug prohibition for free-standing … [Read more...]
U.S. House Approves Limited 340B Inpatient Provision
New 340B-1 program would be administered entirely apart from existing program.May 28, 2010 - The U.S. House passed legislation today that would create a new, voluntary drug discount program entirely separate from the current 340B program and governed by its own rules and guidelines. The American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 (H.R. 4213) would also enable children's hospitals to continue to buy "orphan" drugs at a discount. The new … [Read more...]
340B Providers to Receive Refunds from Upsher-Smith
May 27, 2010 - Refunds will be coming to 340B covered entities that bought the Upsher-Smith Laboratories (USL) women's health drugs Fortical and Vandazole from the fourth quarter of 2006 through October 2009. And for the first time, the government contractor that runs the 340B Prime Vendor Program (PVP) will be involved in processing the payments. The National Drug Code … [Read more...]
House May Add Limited Inpatient Drug Discount to Tax Bill
Measure would also allow children's hospitals to access 340B discounts on outpatient orphan drugs.May 24, 2010 - The U.S. House is expected to consider a tax bill perhaps as soon as tomorrow that would create a dramatically downsized version of the inpatient drug discount sought by safety net hospitals and other 340B providers. The new voluntary program, which sources say might be named 340B-1, would be separate from the existing 340B outpatient drug discount program and … [Read more...]