August 7, 2009 - For more than 15 years, safety-net providers have benefitted from 340B drug discounts that help them serve millions of uninsured patients who show up seeking care every year. Such institutions have grown the federal 340B program into a $5-billion market that now affects 14,000-plus health care facilities and more than 800 manufacturers and wholesalers. But … [Read more...]
Two HRSA Notices Nearing Goal, Third Pending
It looks as if children’s hospitals and contract pharmacies are a go. But what will happen with HRSA’s revision of the patient definition guidance?August 7, 2009 - More than three years after former President George Bush signed into law the Deficit Reduction Act, allowing free-standing children’s hospitals to enroll in the 340B drug discount program, such hospitals are finally on the verge of getting in. Mary Wakefield, head of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), said the formal guidance that would … [Read more...]
House Bill Expands Rebates and Fed’s Role in Part D Pricing
Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) wants to squeeze more concessions from manufacturers under health reform.August 7, 2009 - Some drug industry executives breathed a sigh of relief when Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and the Obama administration announced in June that they had reached an agreement with brand-name drug manufacturers to provide $80 billion toward health reform. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) Compared with other players in … [Read more...]
Two 340B Program Advocates Honored at National Conference
Sharley Chen and Derek Robertson paved way for 340B program growth and improvements.Sharley Chen and Derek Robertson July 27, 2009 - They came to 340B from different angles – he through a non-profit and she the federal government – but both had a profound and lasting impact on the drug discount program. On July 13, Derek Robertson, former executive director and founder of The Hemophilia Alliance, and Sharley Chen, former public health advisor and … [Read more...]
Two 340B Program Advocates Honored at National Conference
Sharley Chen and Derek Robertson July 27, 2009 - They came to 340B from different angles – he through a non-profit and she the federal government – but both had a profound and lasting impact on the drug discount program. On July 13, Derek Robertson, former executive director and founder of The Hemophilia Alliance, and Sharley Chen, former public health advisor and … [Read more...]
340B Legislation Continues to Progress in Congress
July 21, 2009 - The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee (HELP) approved health care reform legislation last week that contains numerous reforms to the 340B Drug Discount Program. The bill would, among other things, extend the 340B discount to the inpatient setting in disproportionate-share hospitals participating in the program, and make free-standing … [Read more...]
Apexus Plans to Expand, Improve Prime Vendor Program
Chris Hatwig Vice President Apexus July 6, 2009 - “All of them.” That’s Chris Hatwig’s recruitment goal as he looks ahead to another five years as head of the government’s 340B Prime Vendor Program. All 340B-covered healthcare facilities should be under Apexus/PVP’s helm, he said, because “anybody who’s not in the program is overpaying for drugs.” And Hatwig has a … [Read more...]