AAMC President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, MD; AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack; America's Essential Hospitals President and CEO Bruce Siegel, MD, MPH, issued the following statement on the U.S. Court of Appeals ruling against the groups in a suit regarding Medicare reimbursements under the 340B drug pricing program:
“We are deeply disappointed that the courts have once again failed to rule on the merits of our case.
As today’s decision stated, ‘The question presented is not whether they may obtain judicial review of their challenges….but when and how they may do so through the special-review scheme for Medicare claims.’
For more than 25 years, the 340B program has played a critical role in helping hospitals expand access to care for vulnerable patients and communities, with drug discounts that cost the government nothing.
We will continue our fight to reverse these unwarranted cuts and protect access for patients, and we expect to refile promptly in district court.”
The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association dedicated to transforming health care through innovative medical education, cutting-edge patient care, and groundbreaking medical research. Its members are all 154 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 51 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and more than 80 academic societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC serves the leaders of America’s medical schools and teaching hospitals and their more than 173,000 full-time faculty members, 89,000 medical students, 129,000 resident physicians, and more than 60,000 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the biomedical sciences.