Reformation of the 340b program

National Law Review posted an article titled, “What a Trump Administration Could Mean for the 340B Drug Program.” The article reads in part as follows;

“A Republican White House and a Republican-run Congress could bring significant changes to the 340B Drug Pricing Program (“the 340B program”). Many in Washington believe that the new administration and Republicans in Congress will favor the concerns of drug manufacturers over the concerns of providers or health plans. If the price of drugs becomes an issue for the new Congress, it is very likely that drug manufactures will ask Congress to “scale back” or potentially even eliminate the 340B program as the “quid pro quo” for imposing even the most modest forms of drug price regulation.

Bloomberg posted an article titled, “Drugmakers Want Tough Scrutiny of 340B Discount Program.” The article reads in part as follows;

“A federal drug discount program for safety-net providers is experiencing rapid growth and deserves tough scrutiny, a group linked to drugmakers said Dec. 6.

The group, AIR 340B, said in a report the federal 340B drug pricing program is expected to reach $23 billion in total drug sales by 2021, up from the estimated program sales for 2016 of $16.1 billion. AIR 340B said the program’s growth has gone unchecked for too long and policymakers should re-examine it to ensure the program is serving its original intent to improve access to drugs for uninsured or vulnerable patients.