August 5, 2010 – The federal Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA) this week formally began enrolling free-standing cancer centers, critical access hospitals, rural referral centers and sole community hospitals into the 340B drug discount program. It also updated its Web site’s home page with direct links to hospital definitions, program registration forms, and the recording of its July 28 webinar on registration along with related PowerPoint slides.
“Today’s announcement is one more way the Affordable Care Act is working to improve our nation’s health,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “The expansion of the number of sites that are eligible for 340B will have an effect beyond just the affordability of medications. Organizations can use the savings from the discounted medications to make them more affordable to patients and expand their access to necessary health care services.”
“We estimate that as many as 1,500 additional hospitals may now be eligible for discounted medications through the Affordable Care Act,” added Health Resources and Services Administration Administrator Mary Wakefield. “In total, we believe the number of sites participating in the 340B program will rise from more than 14,000 to nearly 20,000 when you also factor in clinics and health centers that will be eligible.”
OPA staff members have warned that hospitals that put off applying for the program until late September risk being unable to access 340B prices until the start of next year. Hospitals are being added to the program on a rolling basis until Sept. 30. Those that wait until the last minute to apply might not be officially enrolled until the beginning of the first quarter of 2011, OPA says.