Employers Critique 340B

The 340B drug pricing program, which was designed to help hospitals and clinics treat a large population of low-income and uninsured patients with outpatient drugs, has faced widespread criticism in recent years. As the program has grown, it’s failed to expand its impact, opting for inflated prices instead of helping those who need it most. Employer advocacy organization have recently taken to criticizing the 340B program for allowing hospitals to buy drugs for cheap and sell them to underserved patients for high prices.

Employers are criticizing the program because the money they funnel into it is not being used to help the patients the program exists for, but rather to line the pockets of big hospital systems. 340B discounts make PBM rebates obsolete, leading to a $6.6 billion annual loss among employers. Employers also critique the way the program disincentivizes private practice physicians and values hospital consolidation and the concerning patterns of prescribing cheaper drugs for higher prices. Our Health Equity advocates for reforms in the 340B program to ensure that all Americans have access to the medicines they need at a reasonable price. Read more here.