About 30 Oregon hospitals that serve poor and rural patients met near Portland on April 29 to discuss how the 340B drug discount program enables them to fulfill their safety-net mission, the Portland Business Journal reports. Click here to read the article "While Oregon hospitals embrace drug discount program, 'Big Pharma' wants to scale it back." 340B savings have allowed … [Read more...]
OIG Confirms 340B Guidance Is Silent on Medicaid MCO Duplicate Discounts
Groups said report implied that entities were ignoring a duty that, in fact, doesn't existApril 30, 2014—Federal 340B contract pharmacy guidance "does not specify" whether covered entities are responsible for ensuring that states do not collect manufacturer rebates for 340B-purchased drugs reimbursed by Medicaid managed care organizations, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General says in a letter to two 340B provider groups. … [Read more...]
Alabama Hospital Defends 340B
More hospitals are stepping up to defend and promote the 340B program. Monroe County Hospital in Monroeville, Ala., is the latest. Pharmacy Director Cynthia Martens wrote a pointed op-ed in rebuttal to a Big Pharma-generated screed that ran in early April on AL.com, a Gannett news site. "To read the commentary, Vital Drug Program for the Poor is in Real Danger, you’d think … [Read more...]
IVIG Producers Paying $128 Million to Settle Price-Fixing Charges
Lawsuit said conspiracy involved refusal to sell at mandatory 340B discounted pricesApril 24, 2014—The nation's No. 1 and 2 producers of intravenous immune globulin, together with the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association, are paying a combined $128 million to settle charges that they conspired to fix the prices of IVIG and the blood plasma derivative albumin that the companies sold directly to hospitals and other buyers between 2003 and 2009. … [Read more...]
Rep. Benishek touches base with Munising Memorial Hospital
A local news segment covered Rep. Benishek's recent visit to Munising Memorial Hospital in Michigan. Hospital officials told the Congressman that the 340B Drug Pricing Program, "has been crucial to the hospital’s success." For more information, click here. … [Read more...]
Recent Court Decision May Affect Hospitals’ 340B Eligibility
Ruling involves how HHS calculates DSH adjustment percentages going back to 2004April 22, 2014—A federal appellate court has left open the possibility that the Secretary of Health and Human Services may calculate Medicare disproportionate share adjustment percentages going back 10 years in a way that disqualifies some hospitals for 340B drug discounts. [ms-protect-content id="2799"] On April 1, the District of Columbia U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals … [Read more...]
AHA and Others Sue Over “Two-Midnight” Rule
Outcome could have implications for 340B programApril 16, 2014— The American Hospital Association and several hospital groups and individual hospitals have filed two lawsuits challenging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' “two-midnight” rule for deciding whether a patient is an inpatient for Medicare billing purposes. [ms-protect-content id="2799"] The two-midnight rule states that hospitals can bill Medicare … [Read more...]