Drug companies escalate fight over 340B drug discounts to hospitals
The dispute highlights conflicting interpretations of 340B’s purpose, as drugmakers push for tighter controls and transparency while hospitals rely on the discounts to fund care for underserved populations.
The pharmaceutical industry’s battle against the federal 340B drug-discount program is intensifying, reports the *Wall Street Journal,* with Sanofi unveiling a new claims-data requirement for hospitals to access discounts. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly is suing HHS for rejecting its revised payment plan.
Sanofi’s policy change, set for 2025, demands that hospitals submit detailed claims data before receiving discounts, aiming to curb what the company deems program abuse. Similarly, Eli Lilly’s lawsuit challenges the Health Resources and Services Administration’s denial of its proposal to issue rebates instead of upfront discounts, citing program inefficiencies and fraud risks.
Hospitals, represented by the American Hospital Association, argue that drug companies are prioritizing profits over the program’s goal to support safety-net healthcare providers. Critics from the pharmaceutical industry allege the program, originally intended to aid low-income patients, now benefits large hospital systems through significant markups. In 2023, the program's costs exceeded $66 billion.
Comments ()