Hospitals are abusing this drug discount program
Hospital chains are unfairly profiting off a program meant to help low-income patients afford their medicines. If policymakers don’t reform this system soon, I worry that many of the marginalized patients I’ve devoted my career to protecting won’t be able to access the care they need.
The program, known as 340B, gives drug discounts to hospitals in underprivileged areas so that they can better serve their communities.
Yet, with little oversight, the hospitals can divert the savings to their own bottom lines. A recent report from the Drug Channels Institute exposed just how big the problem is.
The analysis found that under 340B, hospitals took discounts worth $52.3 billion in 2022 with scant evidence that those savings went to help low-income patients.
