REPORT: 340B HOSPITALS ARE DIRECTING SAVINGS TOWARD THEIR COMMUNITIES’ UNIQUE NEEDS
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Hospitals and health systems participating in the 340B drug pricing program provide a wide variety of targeted services to their patients and communities using the savings created by drug discounts. These 340B savings provide needed resources to safety-net hospitals to create programs that meet the specific demographic and disease-specific challenges of these communities. A new report from 340B Health profiles 10 safety-net hospitals and health systems that have identified community-specific health care needs and use a range of strategies to direct 340B resources toward meeting those needs.
The report illustrates the wide variety of specific programs and services that hospitals have developed using 340B savings to meet identified community needs in their service areas. They include launching health initiatives focusing on helping patients with specific conditions overcome barriers to better health, incorporating pharmacists more fully into patients’ health care teams, establishing clinics to focus on unmet health needs within the community, and addressing the social determinants that are directly tied to patients’ health outcomes.
The report profiles the work of the following hospitals:
- Ascension Via Christi, Wichita, Kan.
- Avera McKennan, Sioux Falls, S.D.
- Hennepin Healthcare, Minneapolis
- Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
- Maine Medicare Center, Portland, Maine
- St. Luke’s, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Salem Health, Salem, Ore.
- Southern Ohio Medical Center, Portsmouth, Ohio
- UnityPoint Methodist Hospital, Peoria, Ill.
- University of Alabama Medicine, Birmingham, Ala.
All 340B health systems and hospitals use their program savings to stretch their resources in ways that lead to more comprehensive care for patients in need. They do not all apply these resources in the same ways. One hospital might provide home visits for heart failure patients, while another might integrate pharmacy support into hepatitis C care teams, while yet another might connect low-income HIV/AIDS patients with housing assistance.
These case studies illustrate not just the value of 340B savings in helping address specific community needs but also the flexibility the program offers for doing so through targeted initiatives. The 340B program remains a success story in large part because it is the communities in need that dictate how safety-net providers can apply drug discount savings in the most effective ways.
“Each community faces its own set of health care challenges, and 340B hospitals are shaping programs to meet those needs and improve health care and patient health outcomes for the people they serve,” said 340B Health President and CEO Maureen Testoni. “340B savings from drug company discounts go toward effective programs that are tailored to the needs of patients with low incomes and those who live in rural parts of our country. The fact that 340B accomplishes all this without relying on taxpayer dollars is a significant accomplishment.”
Read the full report to learn more.
Contact: Richard Sorian at richard.sorian@340bhealth.org or 202-536-2285.