The pharmaceutical industry’s campaign to kill the 340B Drug Pricing Program is designed to take your attention away from the real problem: the inflated prices these companies alone set. Don’t take the bait. Scaling back the 340B program will further enrich drug companies at your expense.
The bipartisan 340B program, created in 1992, helps thousands of low-income patients heal and stay well by making medications affordable. It helps cancer and HIV patients who could not otherwise bear the crushing cost of their treatments. And it does all this through manufacturer discounts—not taxpayer dollars. These discounts cost drugmakers a scant 1.3 percent of their nearly $500 billion in annual sales.
Consistent with their mission and Congress’ explicit intent, hospitals use 340B savings to make affordable drugs and care available to low-income Americans. Keep those savings where they belong: with patients and communities, and the nonprofit hospitals on which they rely.