The ADAP Advocacy has published a retrospective white paper titled "340B Program: The Glue That Should Hold Our Healthcare System Together," examining the 340B Drug Pricing Program and why reform is in patients' best interest. The paper argues that the program, now the second-largest federal prescription drug program in the United States behind Medicare Part D, has veered from its original legislative intent by prioritizing provider interests over patient interests.
The white paper calls for greater transparency across multiple layers of the healthcare system, including hospitals' patient billing practices and pharmacy benefit managers' spread pricing policies. It poses three central questions: if 340B is designed to expand access and reduce financial burden, why are patients increasingly unable to afford care? Why is 340B not adequately addressing this problem? And why is it failing to meet the needs of the uninsured and underinsured, the very persons it was designed to serve?
Brandon M. Macsata, CEO of ADAP Advocacy, stated: "There is an ongoing effort to push for greater transparency across multiple layers of this country's fragmented healthcare system... The 340B Program shouldn't be excluded from this broader effort, especially since the ultimate goal is improved program efficiency, leading to greater access to care and treatment for low-income patients."
The white paper emphasizes that a program of this size and importance cannot be entrusted to good faith alone. It states: "What started as a support mechanism has grown into something larger, both in terms of dollars and in the depth of the program's integration into the financial aspects of the American healthcare system. For that reason... improved accountability and transparency guardrails are needed to ensure its success and ultimately its intended beneficiaries: patients."
The full white paper is available at https://www.adapadvocacy.org/policycenter/340b.
ADAP Advocacy's mission is to promote and enhance the AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) and improve access to care for persons living with HIV/AIDS. The organization works with advocates, community members, healthcare providers, government agencies, patients, and pharmaceutical companies to raise awareness, offer patient educational programs, and foster greater community collaboration.
