AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD, and AAMC Chief Health Care Officer Jonathan Jaffery, MD, MS, MMM, FACP, issued the following statement upon U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras’ ruling to return a 340B funding dispute back to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to determine an appropriate remedy for delayed payments to hospitals participating in the 340B Drug Pricing Program:
“The AAMC is disappointed by the district court ruling, which will likely delay retroactive payments to 340B hospitals for the period January 1, 2018 - September 27, 2022, following the U.S. Supreme Court decision last year that HHS cuts under the Outpatient Prospective Payment System, begun in 2018, were unlawful.
The need for fair and prompt agency action is clear. We urge HHS to act without delay through the rulemaking process to remediate the long-standing underpayments while not disadvantaging other hospitals. The 340B program provides essential funding to help hospitals nationwide make more services and programs available for communities with limited access to health services.”