Kansas City Star LTE: Necessity of 340B Reform

By Connie Farrow, Patients Come First Missouri Executive Director

Access to affordable medications is critical, especially to the impoverished in underserved communities that the federal 340B drug-pricing program was intended to help.

Patients on the receiving end of this program already face significant barriers to care, including being unable to afford treatments, residing in rural communities with fewer care facilities and various adverse health outcomes.

There is growing concern that the program’s lack of oversight is allowing bad actors to charge patients higher prices and pocket the difference or use the profits to invest in unrelated programs. When prescription drug discounts don’t reach patients, the program is not functioning as it should.

We are encouraged that reforms to help address these unintended consequences are advancing in the Missouri General Assembly. Sen. Minority Whip John Thune also recently said progress is being made in Congress, and legislation could be released later this month.

It’s imperative that our elected officials keep the interests of Missouri’s most vulnerable patients at the forefront of all discussions concerning the 340B program because it is a lifeline for many impoverished Missourians.

See the LTE in The Kansas City Star here.