May 21, 2010 - Ten of the 11 free-standing cancer centers that were just allowed to seek 340B drug discounts would be denied enrollment if they were to apply because they do not meet the program's eligibility requirements, an analysis by a health care consulting firm concludes. The findings by Avalere Health, which the company summarized on its Web site, could represent a … [Read more...]
State Medicaid Offices Scrambling to Develop a Replacement for AWP
May 13, 2010 - State Medicaid programs have been working feverishly since the settlement of a major lawsuit last fall to replace the average wholesale price (AWP) standard used to set pharmacy reimbursement rates. In a side agreement to the September 2009 settlement, the drug-information publishers First DataBank and Medi-Span agreed to stop publishing AWP-based … [Read more...]
GPO Prohibition Remains in Place Except for New Rural Hospitals
Exceptions language was removed at the same time as inpatient provision.May 12, 2010 - During the health care reform debate, discussion of the 340B program focused mainly on its expansion and steps to improve its integrity. But other matters received plenty of attention behind the scenes, including long-standing efforts by 340B hospitals to win exceptions to the rule barring them from buying outpatient drugs through group purchasing organizations … [Read more...]
Summary of 340B Provisions in the New Health Care Reform Law
Multiple changes will affect providers, manufacturers and regulators alike.May 3, 2010 - As part of our continuing coverage of health care reform, the Monitor has prepared the following digest of the new federal law's main provisions affecting the 340B drug discount program and its stakeholders. Several hundred new covered entities will be eligible for outpatient discounts, there will be greater transparency regarding pricing, increased oversight of … [Read more...]
New Covered Entities 101
SNHPA publishes descriptions, in part, to help hospitals determine if they are indeed eligible for 340B drug discounts.May 3, 2010 - As most Monitor readers might already know, the new health care reform law made a number of critical access hospitals (CAHs) and many sole community hospitals (SCHs) and rural referral centers (RRCs) eligible for 340B drug discounts. It also potentially expanded 340B to 11 free-standing cancer hospitals. But not everyone knows what a CAH, SCH, RRC or … [Read more...]
BMS Issues Refunds to 340B Providers for Dozens of Drugs
SNHPA plans to formally protest firm's aggregated approach to calculating overcharges.May 3, 2010 -Drug manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has begun sending payments to 340B covered entities for overcharges that resulted from the manufacturer's miscalculations of average manufacturer price (AMP) and best price. Hospitals report receiving a wide range of amounts, from less than $70 in one case to slightly more than $85,000 in another. BMS says the … [Read more...]
States Concerned About Lost Share of Medicaid Drug Rebate Revenues
Billions of dollars will be forfeited over 10 years, they claim.April 23, 2010 - Cash-strapped state Medicaid programs are upset to learn that they will see billions of dollars worth of anticipated new rebates from drug companies wind up instead in the federal treasury under the recently enacted health care reform measure. Federal regulators are saying they also will take rebate dollars this year from the state supplemental discounts … [Read more...]