HOUSE DRUG SHORTAGE BILL WOULD PROVIDE WINDFALL TO DRUGMAKERS WHILE HARMING 340B HOSPITALS
WASHINGTON, D.C.— 340B Health has sent a detailed response to the lead author, House Energy & Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), of the “Stop Drug Shortages Act” discussion draft—the House drug shortage bill that would remove a section of drugs for 340B discounts if it were to become law. Included in the draft bill is a provision that would eliminate 340B discounts on generic sterile injectable drugs with at least one indication for a serious disease or condition that is made by more than one manufacturer.
340B Health analysis concluded that 340B makes up only 7% of total U.S. purchases for generic sterile injectables and 340B’s share of volume by drug ranges from 0% to 15% for most of the drugs regardless of whether the drug is in shortage or not in shortage.
Given the low volume, our letter urges the committee to remove 340B-specific sections of the bill as it is simply not credible to claim that 340B plays a major role in drug shortages. The following statement is attributed to Maureen Testoni, president and CEO of 340B Health:
“340B Health appreciates this opportunity to engage with Congress on ways to protect the health care safety net and ensure continued access to life-saving medicines and services.”
“340B represents a small share of sales volume for generic sterile injectables. Removing them from 340B, as proposed in the legislation, would neither prevent nor resolve drug shortages. Rather, it would serve as an undeserved gift to pharmaceutical companies, as it would increase their revenue without holding them accountable for addressing the root causes of shortages.”
“We call on the lawmaker to replace these provisions with more targeted approaches to incentivize higher quality, increased reliability, and sufficient capacity of drugs.”
Contact: Jon Tilton at jon.tilton@340bhealth.org or 202-536-2285