The 340B drug discount program was designed to help low-income patients afford medicine; instead, it is being used to create revenue streams for big hospital systems. The program allows safety-net hospitals to purchase outpatient drugs at a discount, creating savings that are unregulated by federal law. There are no federal reporting requirements on 340B savings, meaning hospitals do not have to prove that those savings are used to provide charity care. Some states, like Minnesota, have transparency laws that reveal just how big the 340B program has become. Instead of reinvesting these huge savings into low-income communities, hospital systems expand into wealthy neighborhoods. Our Health Equity advocates for meaningful reforms to the 340B program that place patients over profits. Read more here.
