By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance
Many employers know little about the $66 billion 340B federal drug-pricing program and its impact on them. But that likely will change in 2025, when a schism between hospitals and drug makers over the rapid growth of the program will take center stage at the Legislature.
The Colorado Hospital Association is working with a group of lawmakers to introduce a bill early in the session that would prohibit drug manufacturers from limiting the use of the discount program to certain pharmacies. Eight states have passed similar laws and about a dozen others are expected to consider them next year, making it arguably the most divisive health-care debate in America today.
Created in 1992, the 340B program requires pharmaceutical companies participating in the Medicaid and Medicare programs to offer discounts ranging typically from 25% to 50% on certain higher-priced drugs to certain hospitals and clinics. Eligible providers, which must treat a minimum percentage of publicly insured or uninsured patients, then use the savings to prop up needed but unprofitable lines of service, offer public health education or, in some cases, reduce patient prescription costs.