Senate oversight committee advances bills aimed at 340B transparency and contract-pharmacy restrictions

The Michigan Senate Committee on Oversight on an unspecified date voted to send Senate Bill 94 and Senate Bill 95 to the Senate floor with a recommendation that both bills pass after a public hearing featuring hospital systems, federally qualified health centers, pharmaceutical trade groups and patient advocates.

Supporters told the committee the 340B drug-pricing program — created by Congress in 1992 to help safety-net providers stretch resources — has been an important revenue source for rural hospitals, community health centers and cancer hospitals, but that recent commercial and contractual changes have sharply reduced program savings for some providers. Jeff Larson, chief growth and development officer at Great Lakes Bay Health Centers, said his organization “has been a loss in nearly $2,000,000 in savings” tied to recent changes and that those funds pay for services such as transportation and community health workers. Matt O’Brien, vice president of pharmacy at Great…