AHA, 340B HEALTH, ARKANSAS HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION URGE FEDERAL APPEALS COURT TO UPHOLD STATE LAW PROTECTING 340B COMMUNITY PHARMACIES
WASHINGTON, D.C.— The American Hospital Association (AHA), 340B Health, and the Arkansas Hospital Association told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit that Arkansas’s 340B Drug Pricing Nondiscrimination Act does not conflict with federal law but rather supports Congress’s goal in enacting the 340B program. The Arkansas law prohibits discriminatory payment policies against 340B providers in the state, including drug company policies that restrict provider access to 340B discounts through community and specialty pharmacy partners. In an amicus brief filed late on Friday, the groups defended the Arkansas law against a constitutional challenge brought by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).
The groups issued the following joint statement on their amicus brief filing:
“Faced with drug companies’ unprecedented assault on Arkansas’s health care safety net, the state legislature acted responsibly to protect their citizens’ access to care from 340B hospitals and other providers. As our amicus brief explains, the Arkansas law does not interfere with or intrude upon the 340B program – it advances the very goals Congress had when creating that program in the first place. Without laws like Arkansas Act 1103, drug companies would continue to pad their profits while raising the risk that several Arkansas hospitals would be forced to shut down. Just like the district court did, the court of appeals should reject PhRMA’s efforts to harm Arkansas patients and communities.”
A link to the full amicus brief can be found HERE.
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Media Contacts:
Colin Milligan (AHA) cmilligan@aha.org
David Glendinning (340B Health) david.glendinning@340bhealth.org
Ashley Warren (Arkansas Hospital Association) awarren@arkhospitals.org