RealClearHealth: Reclaiming 340B: A New Model for Accountability and Access
By Kasia Mulligan, Patients Come First’s National Spokesperson
A major milestone for patient transparency and integrity in hospital care has been reached, as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched a new 340B Drug Rebate Pilot Program.
Just recently, the Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA) announced the voluntary 340B rebate model. The program applies to a select group of eligible medicines and participating manufacturers, and aims to inform and guide the development of future 340B-aligned models through enhanced reporting and transparency.
The lack of transparency and accountability measures in the current discount model has enabled hospitals to pocket the discounts, intended for patients, and divert the savings to fund unrelated projects, such as infrastructure improvements. This practice undermines the very intent of the program—reducing costs for patients. In rural areas, where access to care is already limited, denying affordable treatment is especially harmful. Instead of serving patients, the program is being exploited for institutional gain and manipulated by opaque middlemen.
The 340B program is putting patients in difficult positions, particularly those who are low-income or uninsured. What was originally designed to provide cost savings is now being misused, leaving patients behind. So much that 83 percent of people support reforming the program to ensure those savings reach the patients who need them most. The demand for long-overdue changes is clear. Additionally, 77 percent agree that hospitals should be required to pass along 100 percent of the savings to patients to help lower the cost of medications. Vulnerable patients living in rural and low-income populations need this new rebate model. The public wants accountability and reform that restores the program’s original purpose.
This new pilot program should do just that by introducing a rebate model designed to ensure lower-cost medications go directly to patients. Under this approach, qualifying pharmaceutical companies can offer rebates to hospitals, but only if they verify that the discounted medications are actually reaching patients. This added layer of oversight introduces much-needed accountability for institutions that have too often taken advantage of vulnerable populations. It shifts the focus back to the patient and could serve as an effective blueprint for broader 340B reform.
Read the full op-ed in RealClearHealth here.