April 27, 2012—340B providers should prepare for the possibility of an audit by taking stock of their policies and procedures for avoiding duplicate discounts and drug diversion, a hospital and health-center network recently test-audited by the Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA) counseled others during an April 25 webinar. In addition to self-auditing, the 340B program … [Read more...]
OPA Issues 8 FAQs About 340B Hospital Recertification
Answers questions that arose during February and March webinarsApril 21, 2012—The Office of Pharmacy (OPA) updated its frequently asked questions (FAQ) webpage yesterday with guidance for hospitals about recertifying their eligibility for 340B drug discounts. For the most part, the eight new FAQs address questions that came up during OPA's Feb. 28 and March 28 webinars on recertification, which began on April 20 for free-standing cancer … [Read more...]
OPA Holding 340B Recertification Webinar for Manufacturers & Wholesalers
First batch of hospitals due to begin reaffirming eligibility todayApril 20, 2012—The Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA) is holding a webinar next week for drug manufacturers and wholesalers about its 340B hospital recertification process. Recertification began today for free-standing cancer hospitals, children's hospitals, rural referral centers (RRCs), and sole community hospitals (SCHs) and will begin on April 27 for disproportionate share … [Read more...]
Influential Senator Seeks 7-Year Halt on 340B Pricing for Shortage-Prone Drugs
Draft bill would also exempt manufacturers from Medicaid rebates on many sterile injectable drugsApril 20, 2012—Senate Finance Committee Ranking Republican Orrin Hatch of Utah this week began circulating draft drug shortage legislation that would, among other provisions, exempt manufacturers of many sterile injectable drugs from paying Medicaid rebates and 340B discounts on the products for seven years. The exemptions would apply to single- and multiple-source sterile … [Read more...]
OPA Sets Provisional Dates for Start of 340B Hospital Recertification
Emails are slated to be sent on April 20, April 27, and May 4April 11, 2012—The Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA) has refined its timetable for sending hospital senior executives emails containing the username, password, and instructions they will need to recertify that their institution and all of its registered outpatient sites are eligible for the 340B drug discount program. Authorizing officials at 340B free-standing cancer … [Read more...]
How Would 340B Fare if Health Care Reform Is Struck Down?
A Drug Discount Monitor news analysisApril 6, 2012—The critical access hospital in Warm Springs, Ga., President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's rural retreat, just became eligible for 340B drug discounts on April 1. But before July arrives, the 25-bed facility in Meriwether County—where nearly one in five lives below the poverty line—could possibly find itself out of the federal program, along with nearly 800 other … [Read more...]
FTC Allows Express Scripts to Purchase Medco Health Solutions
Dissenting commissioner calls the PBM merger a "game changer"April 4, 2012—The Federal Trade Commission has closed its investigation of the proposed acquisition of pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) Medco Health Solutions by Express Scripts, clearing the way for the merger of two of the nation's largest PBMs. The April 2 vote to end the investigation was 3 to 1, with Commissioner Julie Brill dissenting.[ms-protect-content id="2799"] An … [Read more...]