Legislature advances bill to protect 340B contract-pharmacy arrangements for safety-net providers

Senator Tom Hardin, sponsor of LB168, told the Legislature the bill would protect access to the federal 340B drug discount program for safety-net health providers by preventing drug manufacturers from restricting deliveries to contract pharmacies. The bill was advanced to E & R initial after the body rejected a motion to indefinitely postpone and adopted a committee amendment.

Hardin, a member of the Health and Human Services Committee, said the 340B program — created by Congress in 1992 — lets eligible safety-net providers, including critical access hospitals and federally qualified health centers, purchase outpatient drugs at discounted prices and reinvest savings into services for underserved patients. He told…