Health centers and hospitals urge committee to protect 340B savings as manufacturers and PBMs limit access

Community health center executives, hospital system pharmacists and patient advocates told the Joint Committee on Financial Services that the federal 340B drug discount program is essential to keeping care affordable and locally available — and that actions by drug manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers are stripping those savings away.

"The 340B program is a vital federal policy that allows eligible safety net providers to stretch scarce resources and invest these savings directly into care," Christina Severn, president and CEO of Community Care Cooperative, said in testimony supporting House Bill 1107 and Senate Bill 819.

The bills before the committee would prohibit discrimination against 340B participants by requiring manufacturers to ship 340B-priced drugs to contract pharmacies that covered entities use and limiting PBM and insurer practices that providers say reduce the value of the discounts. Supporters said those changes would restore millions of dollars to community health centers at no cost to the Commonwealth; opponents urged more transparency and safeguards…