STATEMENT BY 340B HEALTH INTERIM PRESIDENT AND CEO MAUREEN TESTONI ON FINAL RULE TO ENFORCE DRUG INDUSTRY TRANSPARENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C.— The following statement is by Maureen Testoni, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of 340B Health:
“The administration made the correct decision today in finalizing a Jan. 1, 2019, effective date for long-overdue transparency and accountability regulations for pharmaceutical manufacturers participating in the 340B drug pricing program. The final rule issued today by the Dept. of Health and Human Services and the Health Resources and Services Administration is a big step toward stopping drug companies from overcharging 340B hospitals, clinics, and health centers.”
“We applaud HHS Secretary Azar and HRSA Administrator Sigounas for agreeing that no further delay is necessary for the 340B ceiling price and manufacturer civil monetary penalties regulation. The regulation now will be going into effect more than eight years after Congress mandated it – and only after a lawsuit filed by 340B Health and other hospital organizations to stop repeated administrative delays to the effective date. As today’s final rule notes, these delays have given drug makers ‘more than enough time to prepare for its requirements.’”
“The next step toward ensuring true 340B drug maker transparency is for the administration to launch its ceiling price website so hospitals, clinics, and health centers can ascertain that they are paying the correct amounts for 340B medications. We are encouraged that HHS says it will release that pricing reporting system shortly and that the department will communicate additional updates through its website.”
“We look forward to working with HHS and HRSA as they prepare to get the ceiling price website online and ensure that drug manufacturers are held to the standards that Congress required.”
Contact: Richard Sorian at richard.sorian@340bhealth.org or 202-536-2285.