ADAP Advocacy has released a retrospective white paper examining the 340B Drug Pricing Program, arguing that the program has strayed from its original legislative intent and requires reform to better serve patients. The paper, titled "340B Program: The Glue That Should Hold Our Healthcare System Together," calls for increased transparency and accountability to ensure the program benefits its intended beneficiaries: low-income and uninsured patients.
The 340B Program is now the second-largest federal prescription drug program in the United States, behind Medicare Part D. However, the white paper contends that its growth has outpaced the ability to clearly see how it is actually helping patients. Instead, it has prioritized provider interests over patient interests, leading to questions about its effectiveness.
Brandon M. Macsata, CEO of ADAP Advocacy, stated in the release: "There is an ongoing effort to push for greater transparency across multiple layers of this country's fragmented healthcare system, including hospitals' patient billing practices and pharmacy benefit managers' spread pricing policies. The 340B Program shouldn't be excluded from this broader effort, especially since the ultimate goal is improved program efficiency, leading to greater access to care and treatment for low-income patients."
The white paper highlights three central questions driving the call for reform: If 340B is designed to expand access and reduce financial burden, why are patients increasingly unable to afford care? Why is 340B not adequately addressing this problem? Why is it failing to meet the needs of the uninsured and the underinsured, the very persons it was designed to serve?
The paper states: "What started as a support mechanism has grown into something larger, both in terms of dollars and in the depth of the program's integration into the financial aspects of the American healthcare system. For that reason, a healthcare program of this size, magnitude, and importance cannot be entrusted to good faith alone; rather, improved accountability and transparency guardrails are needed to ensure its success and ultimately its intended beneficiaries: patients."
The full white paper is available at https://www.adapadvocacy.org/policycenter/340b.
