September 13, 2012—The Health Resources and Services Administration has opted to renew its contract with Apexus to operate the 340B Prime Vendor Program (PVP) for another year.
In 2009, HRSA signed Apexus to a two-year base contract to run PVP with three option years, the first of which HRSA exercised in October 2011.[ms-protect-content id=”2799″] Apexus is a nonprofit subsidiary of the group purchasing organization Provista. It began managing PVP under its earlier name, Healthcare Purchasing Partners International, in 2003.
PVP negotiates pharmaceutical pricing below the 340B ceiling price for participating 340B covered entities. There is no charge for providers to participate.
“We are pleased to continue our relationship with HRSA,” said Apexus Vice President Christopher Hatwig in a news release. “As the government’s prime vendor for the 340B program, we believe the program is an essential federal program, and we are committed to providing value to the eligible organizations we serve. Since our partnership began, in addition to regulatory discounts on covered outpatient drugs, the program has added numerous value-added products and services.”
The 340B program “helps improve access to affordable medications for covered entities and underserved patient groups,” Hatwig continued. Without it, “we believe many of the nation’s uninsured and under-insured would not have adequate access to affordable medications. This program helps alleviate additional financial burdens on the nation’s safety-net providers and American taxpayers.”
Apexus is one of the Office of Pharmacy Affairs’ (OPA) two main contractors. This summer, HRSA held a competition for a contractor to support its 340B program integrity efforts and perhaps take over enrolling and recertifying providers in the program. This contract agency is believed to be the successor to OPA’s Pharmacy Services Support Center (PSSC), which has been operated by the American Pharmacists Association since 2002. It is unclear when HRSA will announce the winner of the new contract competition.[/ms-protect-content]