HOW THE 340B DRUG PRICING PROGRAM IMPACTS PATIENTS
The 340B Drug Pricing Program was established by Congress in 1992 with the intention to make prescription medications and healthcare services affordable for uninsured and low-income patients. The 340B program enables covered entities or providers (health centers, clinics and State AIDS drug assistance programs, Medicare/Medicaid disproportionate share hospitals, children’s hospitals, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and other safety net providers) to stretch scarce federal resources as far as possible, reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive services. Through the program pharmaceutical manufacturers participating in Medicaid agree to provide outpatient drugs to covered entities at significantly reduced prices.
The 340B program has seen significant growth over the past three decades. The discounted purchases under the 340B program reached a total of $66.3 billion in 2023 alone. However, evidence does not show the program is serving these vulnerable patients as intended. Advocates are concerned that some pharmacies may be benefiting financially and PBMs, the hidden middlemen in this system, may be reaping profits. Also, the amount of charity care offered to patients has been declining since 2018. This decline has compromised access to essential medical services for vulnerable populations.
More than 30 years since 340B was created, we must ask the question: is the program truly benefiting patients as intended?
To ensure the 340B program fulfills its original purpose for enabling covered entities to stretch scarce federal resources as far as possible, reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive services, lawmakers should implement federal reforms that enhance transparency and oversight of the 340B Drug Pricing Program.
Key Resources
Explore our curated list of resources, including news media, research, and academic studies, that highlight the impact of the 340B program on patients across the country.
News Media Coverage & Investigations
- The New York Times: Insulin Prices Dropped. But Some Poor Patients Are Paying More | January 2025
- The New York Times: How a Company Makes Millions Off a Hospital Program Meant to Help the Poor | January 2025
- The Washington Post: This federal program was meant to help vulnerable patients. But is it leaving them behind? | February 2024
- The Wall Street Journal: Hospitals Often Don’t Help Needy Patients, Even Those Who Qualify | November 2022
- The New York Times: How a Hospital Chain Used a Poor Neighborhood to Turn Huge Profits | September 2022
- The Wall Street Journal: Big Hospitals Provide Skimpy Charity Care—Despite Billions in Tax Breaks | July 2022
Research & Studies
- Berkely Research Group: Measuring the Relative Size of the 340B Program: 2022 Update | May 2024
- IQVIA: The 340B Drug Discount Program Grew to $124B in 2023 | May 2024
- Alliance for Integrity and Reform of 340B: DSH Hospitals’ 340B Profit Often Exceeds Charity Care Spending | March 2024
- Alliance for Integrity and Reform of 340B: Charity Care at 340B Hospitals is on a Downward Trend | October 2023
- AJMC: Income Differences Between Locations of 340B Entities and Contract Pharmacies | June 2023
- IQVIA: Are Discounts in the 340B Drug Discount Program Being Shared with Patients at Contract Pharmacies? | September 2022
Visit out Federal Issues page for more information about issues CCPA is working on.