In late August, the South Florida Sun Sentinel published an op-ed lambasting the 340B program by Peter Pitts of the innocuous sounding Center for Medicine in the Public Interest. The commentary neglected to mention that “center” is heavily financed by drug companies and that Pitts himself has spent a good amount of his career as a PR executive for the drug industry.
Pitts’ thesis is that hospitals are “exploiting” 340B at the expense of low-income patients and “padding their bottom lines” with “billions in ill-gotten gains.” This behavior “could be preventing many vulnerable Americans from accessing the low-cost drugs they need to treat and prevent illness,” he claims. We’re unaware of Pitts or his group having ever sided with “vulnerable Americans” ever before.
Today, the Sun Sentinel published a commentary in reply by Ted Slafsky of Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access (SNHPA). In it, Slafsky points out Pitts’ drug industry connections, discusses 340B’s bipartisan support, and describes how hospitals are using 340B discounts to stretch their resources, reach more vulnerable patients, and provide better services. Click here for a copy.