New Research Shows 340B Hospitals Target More Low-Income Patients
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 3, 2015
Contact: Randy Barrett
(202) 536-2285
randy.barrett@340bhealth.org
New Research Shows 340B Hospitals Target More Low-Income Patients
Washington, DC – Hospitals in the 340B drug pricing program care for nearly twice as many poor patients as other hospitals, new research released today shows. They also shoulder a much higher burden of uncompensated care.
The study, conducted by the healthcare economics and policy consulting firm Dobson DaVanzo & Associates, set out to determine the extent to which disproportionate share (DSH) hospitals enrolled in the 340B drug pricing program focus their services on vulnerable patient populations. Under the 340B program, safety-net hospitals and other health care providers that serve the poor in large numbers can buy prescription drugs for less. Congress intended for them to use the savings to stretch scarce resources and provide more services to more patients.
340B Health commissioned Dobson DaVanzo to conduct the study. It found that:
- 340B DSH hospitals provide nearly twice as much care as non-340B hospitals – 41.9 percent versus 22.8 percent – to Medicaid beneficiaries and low-income Medicare patients.
- 340B hospitals provide 40 percent more uncompensated care as a percent of total patient care costs than non-340B hospitals – $24.6 billion to $17.5 billion. Although 340B hospitals accounted for only 35 percent of all hospitals included in the analysis, 340B hospitals provided 58 percent of all uncompensated care. In addition, when taking hospital size into account and looking at uncompensated care as a percent of total patient care costs, 340B hospitals across all hospital sizes provided consistently high levels of uncompensated care.
- A higher percentage of 340B DSH hospitals provide public health and specialized services – many of which are unprofitable but essential to their communities – than non-340B hospitals.
“Three metrics have been used in the literature to describe safety-net hospitals: 1) provision of services to vulnerable populations, 2) a disproportionate amount of uncompensated care, and 3) type of care provided,” said author Joan DaVanzo. “Our analyses found that DSH hospitals participating in the 340B program surpass non-340B hospitals on all three criteria, regardless of size.”
Ted Slafsky, President and CEO of 340B Health, added: “Some in the drug industry have questioned whether 340B hospitals truly serve the needy and whether they belong in the program. This report provides clear and unequivocal evidence that the answer is yes.”
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340B Health, formerly Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access, is an association of more than 1,000 hospitals. We are the leading advocate and resource for those providers who serve their communities through participation in the 340B drug pricing program. For more information about us and the 340B program, visit www.340bhealth.org.