Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.) released an April 24 report detailing findings from a yearslong inquiry into the 340B Drug Pricing Program (PDF). The report, “Congress Must Act to Bring Needed Reforms to the 340B Drug Pricing Program,” summarized Cassidy’s key takeaways pulled from responses submitted by eight participants in the program, including two hospitals (Bon Secours Mercy Health and the Cleveland Clinic), two federally qualified health centers (Sun River Health and Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic), two contract pharmacies (CVS and Walgreens), and two pharmaceutical manufacturers (Amgen and Eli Lilly). In addition to these responses, Johnson & Johnson voluntarily submitted information to Cassidy in support of the report.
The inquiry spanned multiple aspects of the 340B program, including covered entities’ use of 340B savings, the role of contract pharmacies in the program, and fees assessed by third-party administrators (TPAs), among other topics. The report concluded with several recommendations for Congress to modify the program, including:
- Requiring covered entities to report on how they use their 340B savings.
- Addressing logistical and administrative burdens that may prevent patients from directly benefitting from the program.
- Further investigating the financial benefit of the program to contract pharmacies and TPAs.
- Requiring additional transparency and reporting by contract pharmacies and TPAs.
- Examining legislative changes to patient definition.
- Revisiting contract pharmacies’ use of the inventory replenishment model, in which 340B and non-340B drugs are stored together in a pharmacy’s general inventory.
While the report’s recommendations are targeted at various stakeholders across the 340B program, it does not contain recommendations specific to pharmaceutical manufacturers’ practices. The AAMC previously addressed some of these issues, highlighting concerns with pharmaceutical manufacturers’ abuse of the program, in their comments on the bipartisan SUSTAIN Act [refer to Washington Highlights, April 5, 2024].