June 23, 2011—Hospitals enrolled in the 340B drug discount program have taken strong exception to a guest column in an influential health policy journal's blog that asserts that 340B is contributing to severe drug shortages. In a June 8 essay in Health Affairs Blog, John Goodman of the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) said that 340B was part of "a web of [federal] … [Read more...]
New Motion Filed in Landmark 340B Overcharging Case
Calif. county seeks to give evidence of alleged violations to federal government.June 20, 2011—A California county and its safety-net health care providers have asked a federal district judge for permission to give the federal government secret documents and other evidence that they say show that nine major drug companies overcharged them millions of dollars for 340B-discounted medicines. The June 2 motion in federal district court in San Francisco is an … [Read more...]
Report: States Need Better Tools to Oversee Medicaid Reimbursement of 340B Drugs
HRSA and CMS Need to Provide More Guidance, HHS Inspector General recommends.June 16, 2011—State Medicaid agencies lack either the policies or the information that they need to oversee reimbursements for drugs bought under the 340B drug discount program, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) said in a new report issued late yesterday. The report , which was written by the OIG's Office of Evaluations and … [Read more...]
340B Hospital Reopens in Temporary Quarters Just Days After Tornado Strike
Donations to relief fund for hospital workers reach $500,000.June 8, 2011— St. John's Regional Medical Center, the 340B-enrolled hospital in Joplin, Mo., devastated by a tornado on May 22, is demonstrating how seriously it takes its mission to serve the public. Just seven days after it was hammered by the nation's deadliest tornado since 1939, it reopened as St. John's Mercy Hospital—a fully functional, 60-bed mobile acute care … [Read more...]
Grifols-Talecris Merger Approved
FTC expresses concern about access to 340B-discounted IVIG.June 3, 2011— The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) yesterday tentatively approved the merger of blood product manufacturers Grifols and Talecris on the condition that the companies sell several of their assets. In a concurring separate statement , however, Commissioner Julie Brill called attention to the difficulty that 340B covered entities have had trying to obtain the blood … [Read more...]
Tornado Devastates Missouri 340B Hospital
OPA activates flexibility during disasters policy statewide.May 25, 2011— St. John's Regional Medical Center, a 340B disproportionate share hospital in Joplin, Mo., was devastated by a major tornado on May 22. There were more than 120 known fatalities in the community as of May 25, five of them patients of St. John's. It was the nation's deadliest single tornado since 1939. Due to extensive structural damage, the hospital was … [Read more...]
340B Stakeholders Begin Poring Over Orphan Drug Rule
Spirited fight ahead over regulation's final wording.May 25, 2011—Rural and freestanding cancer hospitals should be allowed to buy orphan drugs at 340B-discounted prices when they use the medicines to treat non-orphan diseases or conditions, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) says in a long-awaitedproposed regulation—the first ever for the 340B program. The Monitor was the first to break the news of this … [Read more...]