December 10, 2014—House and Senate appropriators agreed yesterday on a $1.1 trillion fiscal 2015 federal spending bill with report language about the 340B program. Congress has yet to vote on the measure.[ms-protect-content id="2799"] The "explanatory statement" about the bill submitted by House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers of Kentucky: Directs the Health Resources … [Read more...]
340B Addressed During House Hearing on Health Spending
Health panel's chair asks if it's time to re-evaluate programDecember 10, 2014—The chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee asked during a hearing yesterday whether the 340B program should be re-evaluated.[ms-protect-content id="2799"] Rep. Joseph Pitts (R-Pa.) broached the subject during a session on how Medicare and Medicaid spending might be reined in during the next session of Congress when the Senate shifts … [Read more...]
How is the Drug Industry Doing These Days?
The drug industry and its surrogates love to repeat the ridiculous line that the 340B drug discount program "is being exploited by rich hospitals to boost their bottom lines." Drug companies, they claim, are "incurring heavy losses from 340B abuse," as one drug company apologist recently put it. SNHPA has created an infographic that sets the record straight. It compares the … [Read more...]
340B Proposed Regulations Penciled in for April and September
The first is on pricing and manufacturer sanctions, second is on dispute resolutionDecember 3, 2014—The Health Resources and Services Administration plans to publish two 340B program regulations next year, one in April and the other in September, according to the federal government's latest agenda of upcoming regulatory actions.[ms-protect-content id="2799"] The first rule would set standards for calculating 340B ceiling prices and establish civil monetary … [Read more...]
New Study on Underinsurance Underscores 340B’s Importance
Drugmakers and others who want the 340B program to disappear sometimes argue there's less need for the drug discounts in the post-Obamacare era. New research shows why they're wrong. Underinsurance in America is growing, as non-elderly adults are paying more out-of-pocket for private health insurance, a new Commonwealth Fund study finds. What's more, the problem is most acute … [Read more...]
Bill Would Extend Medicaid Drug Rebate Inflation Penalty to Generics
Measure doesn't mention 340B, but it also might affect drug discountsDecember 2, 2014—Two members of Congress who have been investigating rising generic drug prices have introduced legislation that would require generic drugmakers to provide larger Medicaid drug rebates whenever their products' prices rise faster than the rate of inflation. [ms-protect-content id="2799"] However, with just days left in the current session of Congress, the … [Read more...]
National Newspaper Ad Hits Genentech’s Specialty-Drug Switch
Open letter in The New York Times calls for reversal of "ill-advised" changeNovember 24, 2014—A leading hospital group purchasing organization and 16 prominent health care institutions asked Genentech in an open letter in The New York Times yesterday to reverse its "ill-advised decision" to move its top-selling cancer drugs Avastin, Herceptin, and Rituxan into the more expensive specialty distribution channel. [ms-protect-content id="2799"] The … [Read more...]