Statement by 340B Health President and CEO Ted Slafsky On the Introduction of H.R. 4392
Washington, D.C.—“Today’s bipartisan action to begin the process of blocking the Draconian cuts in Medicare Part B payments to 340B hospitals is a critical step to protecting low-income, uninsured and underinsured patients and the providers they depend on for their care. We applaud the sponsors of this legislation – Representatives David McKinley (R-W.Va.), Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), David Kustoff (R-Tenn.), Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), and Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) – for their leadership on this critical issue. We urge Congress to take swift action to approve this critically important legislation so that this misguided regulation cannot take effect on Jan. 1.
The rule by the Department of Health and Human Services will harm patients’ access to needed services and undermine the ability of safety net institutions to care for them. It will do nothing to reduce drug prices, lower Medicare spending, or save seniors a dime. In fact, CMS would take $1.6 billion in Medicare drug payments away from 340B hospitals and redistribute it to for-profit and other non-340B hospitals to pay for other services, raising patients’ out of pocket costs for such care.
For 25 years, the 340B drug pricing program has curbed the cost of prescription drugs to hospitals, clinics, and health centers that serve significant number of low-income and rural patients. The money these providers save allows them to stretch their limited resources to provide more services and savings to their patients. In rural community hospitals, 340B often is the difference between continuing to serve and closing their doors. 340B discounts save all of these providers $6.1 billion, allowing them to stretch their limited resources to reduce drug costs to patients and expand the type of care available to their communities. While these discounts are vital to the operation of these health care providers, they represent only 1.3 percent of total drug sales in the United States so have limited impact on pharmaceutical industry profits.
Implementation of the Medicare Part B payment cuts would force providers to reduce services, lay off workers, and potentially close facilities. At a time when our nation is battling to address the growing epidemic of opiate use and high the price of prescription drugs, this policy is the wrong medicine. We look forward to working with the sponsors of this bill and the broad, bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress to halt this misguided policy before it causes harm.”
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