Health Care Providers Say Bill Is Life Saving For Their Ability To Provide Care
ST. JOHNSBURY — Shawn Tester, CEO of Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital, said the 340B drug discount program was essential for rural healthcare.
“Without it, you’re going to have such a gaping hole in our budgets and bottom lines. I don’t think there’s a single rural hospital that would survive,” Tester said.
Proposed legislation would preserve the 340B.
Sen. Peter Welch recently introduced a bill — the 340B Pharmaceutical Access To Invest in Essential, Needed Treatments & Support (PATIENTS) Act — to protect the 32-year-old program that primarily helps patients in lower income and rural communities.
Meeting with local healthcare officials Thursday at NVRH, Welch said it was vital to maintain and strengthen 340B.
“As health systems in Vermont and across America deal with the extreme rising costs of drugs, care and services, we need to shore up the programs that support the sustainability of our care providers — especially in our most rural and lower-income communities. The 340B drug pricing program allows care providers to purchase prescription drugs at discounted prices, and in turn helps ensure rural communities can access important medical and social services. But powerful pharmaceutical companies are trying to undermine the success of the program, and their attacks will limit access to affordable medications and care for those who need it most,” Welch said.
“I heard it again in St. Johnsbury — providers know how critically important this program is for the patients in their communities. I’ll keep fighting to advance federal legislation that supports access to affordable drugs and health care for Vermont patients.”
Since 1992, the 340B program has helped “safety net” providers (like rural community hospitals, critical access hospitals, and community health centers) to purchase outpatient prescription drugs at reduced prices from drug manufacturers at no cost to the taxpayers, according to Welch.
Savings from the 340B program help providers expand critical services such as mental health care, substance-use disorder treatments, and emergency services, to support the most vulnerable patients in their community without the need for additional federal funding, Welch said.
Michael Auger, the pharmacy director at NVRH, said the 340B program had resulted in significant savings.
“The last three years our drug spend has been about $21 million; without 340B it would be $26 million,” Auger said.
However, during the pandemic, pharmaceutical manufacturers began announcing restrictions on the 340B program by limiting the number of pharmacies 340B providers can use to dispense the medications to patients, which disproportionately impacts rural states.
“It feels like it’s whack a mole,” Tester said. “Every year, this program is perennially under threat.”
Chris Towne, CEO of Northern Counties Health Care, said it was important to maintain and grow the 340B program, noting that NCHC was the only healthcare provider for rural Essex County.
“We’re struggling,” he said.
Tester agreed, and pointed to the growing inflationary and workforce challenges that have put even more financial pressure on NVRH since COVID.
“The pandemic was an incredible challenge, an incredible hardship, but I think these years following the pandemic are in many ways more challenging,” Tester said. “Our healthcare system today is much more fragile than it was five years ago due to inflationary pressure and lack of workforce.”
Welch understood.
“You can’t afford to lose [340B] and your patients can’t afford to lose that,” he said.
As for pharmaceutical companies, Welch said the 340B program represents just two percent of the $325 billion U.S. pharmaceutical market.
“I think they can handle it,” Welch said.
ABOUT THE 340B PATIENTS ACT
The 340B Pharmaceutical Access To Invest in Essential, Needed Treatments & Support (PATIENTS) Act would:
— Clarify that manufacturers are required to offer 340B discount prices to covered entities regardless of the manner or location in which a drug is dispensed, including if a covered entity uses a contract pharmacy to dispense 340B drugs to the entity’s patients.
— Ensure that manufacturers cannot place conditions on the ability of a covered entity to purchase and use 340B drugs, regardless of the manner or location in which the drug is dispensed, including through contract pharmacies.
— Impose civil monetary penalties on manufacturers that violate these statutory requirements and prohibition.
The 340B PATIENTS Act is endorsed by 340B Health, Advocates for Community Health, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, America’s Essential Hospitals (AEH), American Hospital Association (AHA), American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Bi-State Primary Care Association, Catholic Health Association of the United States, Children’s Hospital Association (CHA), Community Health Centers of Burlington, National Rural Health Association (NRHA), Ryan White Clinics for 340B Access, and the Vermont Association for Hospitals and Health Systems (VAHHS).
Story Written by Paul Hayes, Caledonian Record