Senator Cassidy Introduces Legislation on 340B Program

Recently, Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy introduced the Helping Ensuring Low-income Patients have Access to Care and Treatment, (the “HELP Act”). The legislation would close loopholes in the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) 340B program and hold hospitals accountable for passing on prescription drug discounts to patients. The HELP Act would increase transparency and strengthen the reporting requirements to prevent abuse and ensure that 340B discounts are being used efficiently and to lower drug costs. The bill would prohibit any new enrollments in the 340B program for at least two years and would require the HHS secretary to issue new reporting requirements for current program participants. The legislation includes the following pieces: A temporary halt on the expansion of the 340B program for disproportionate share hospitals (including hospital outpatient facilities) Clearer eligibility standards for hospitals and their offsite outpatient facilities Public data reporting that highlights key metrics like patient mix and the amount of charity care provided by non-rural hospitals New GAO and OIG reports on key areas, including reports on charity care rates at physician offices purchased by hospitals A claims modifier, which will make it easier to identify and prevent duplicate discounting However, there are several exceptions to pieces of the legislation. For example, critical access hospitals, rural referra...
Source: Policy and Medicine - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs