Congress can lower health care costs by restoring 340B program to its original intent

Council applauds introduction of 340B ACCESS Act as CBO report underscores need for reform 

WASHINGTON, DC – The American Benefits Council commends Representatives Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-GA) and Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) for their introduction of the 340B Affording Care for Communities and Ensuring a Strong Safety-Net Act (340B ACCESS Act) on September 10.

Earlier this year, the Council issued a research paper explaining how employers, working families and taxpayers are shouldering a significant cost of the 340B drug pricing program’s expansion, while the program is failing to sufficiently benefit the vulnerable patients it was intended to serve.

Introduction of the legislation came the day after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report examining the factors contributing to the growth in the 340B drug pricing program and the impact on the federal budget. The report’s findings add further evidence that the program has veered far from its mission and is raising costs for payers, patients and the government.

Ilyse Schuman, senior vice president, health and paid leave policy at the American Benefits Council, said the following upon release of the CBO report and introduction of the 340B ACCESS Act:

“Employers are deeply concerned about the explosive growth of the 340B program and the significant cost it has imposed on employer-sponsored health plans.

“The 340B program was originally designed to help covered entities that serve low-income patients more easily afford prescription drug medicines, to lower costs for and better serve those low-income patients,” said Schuman. “Instead, health systems are using the program in profit-driven ways and passing higher costs on to employers, families and taxpayers – meanwhile failing to assist the low-income patients the program was originally designed to help.

“By offering health coverage to almost 180 million Americans, employers are a key stakeholder in legislative efforts to amend the 340B program. The Council has strong concerns that the growth of the 340B program is raising costs for employers and working families by fueling hospital-physician consolidation, affecting discounts in the commercial market and promoting increased use of higher-cost therapies.

“The CBO report reinforces these concerns and underscores the need for Congress to act to restore the 340B program to its original intent of helping vulnerable patients in underserved communities. Reforms like those contained in the 340B ACCESS Act would refocus the program on serving vulnerable patients as intended and target the factors contributing to the program’s explosive growth, thereby lowering costs for employers, working families and taxpayers.

“Release of the CBO report and introduction of the 340B ACCESS Act are positive steps forward in identifying and addressing much-needed reforms of the 340B program. We look forward to working with Congress on comprehensive reforms that ensure the program is helping vulnerable patients in underserved communities without raising costs for millions of Americans with employer-sponsored health coverage,” Schuman said. 

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