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The Alliance for Integrity and Reform of 340B (AIR340B) Coalition issued the following statement regarding Maryland House Bill 1056 (HB 1056), legislation that would accelerate the growth of for-profit contract pharmacies in the 340B program.

The Alliance for Integrity and Reform of 340B (AIR340B) provided feedback to the SUSTAIN 340B Act Discussion Draft and Supplemental RFI released by a bipartisan group of senators — Sens. John Thune (R-SD), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jerry Moran (R-KS) regarding steps Congress can take to improve health care outcomes within underserved communities. In our response, AIR340B highlighted several important policies to improve program integrity and ensure existing program abuses are addressed so that patients are benefiting from the 340B program, as intended.

• True accountability in 340B requires a clear, statutory patient definition.
• Any reform must require 340B hospitals and their contract pharmacies provide discounts to low-income and uninsured patients.
• Reforms should aim to improve access and affordability for patients, not simply expand the program. Requiring manufacturers to provide unlimited discounts to thousands of contract pharmacies only helps PBMs and pharmacy chains, not patients.
• Proposed transparency requirements for covered entities are an important step forward, but more is needed to capture impacts of the 340B program on patient costs.

AIR340B commends the Senators’ collective efforts to find bipartisan solutions to the issues plaguing the 340B program. We have always supported greater transparency, accountability, and oversight of the program to ensure it directly supports access for vulnerable patients, and we appreciate the discussion draft covers several important policy issues while the supplemental request seeks input on limiting use of contract pharmacies in the program.  We believe, if left unaddressed, the unrestrained growth of contract pharmacies will continue to help hospitals, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), and large pharmacy chains profit from the program without ensuring low-income and other vulnerable patients benefit.  We will continue to strongly advocate for policies that fix 340B to put patients over profit.

The Alliance for Integrity and Reform of 340B (AIR340B) today released a new report, DSH Hospitals' 340B Profit Often Exceeds Charity Care Spending, which analyzed the latest data on hospital charity care and found that 85% of disproportionate share hospitals (DSH) earn more in 340B profit than they spend on charity care.

The Alliance for Integrity and Reform of 340B (AIR340B) Coalition issued the following statement regarding Minnesota House File 4991 (HF 4991), a bill that would aid in the unchecked growth of for-profit contract pharmacies in 340B.

The Alliance for Integrity and Reform of 340B (AIR340B) Coalition issued the following statement in response to recently introduced federal legislation, H.R.7635.

The Alliance for Integrity and Reform of 340B (AIR340B) issued the following statement regarding Mississippi Senate Bill 2145 (SB 2145) and House Bill 728 (HB 728), legislation that would allow for unchecked growth of for-profit contract pharmacies in the 340B program.

The Alliance for Integrity and Reform of 340B (AIR340B) issued the following statement regarding Kentucky Senate Bill 27 (SB 27), a bill that would aid in the unchecked growth of for-profit contract pharmacies in the 340B program.

The Alliance for Integrity and Reform of 340B (AIR340B) issued the following statement regarding Oklahoma Senate Bill 1628 (SB 1628), a bill that would hasten the unrestrained growth of contract pharmacies in the 340B program.