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House amends bill to protect 340B covered entities and contract pharmacies; reporting and enforcement added
Summary
H.266 would prohibit certain manufacturer restrictions on 340B purchases, require reporting to the Green Mountain Care Board, protect contract pharmacy operations, mandate discount-at-purchase pricing, and create private remedies; the House amended the bill as recommended and ordered third reading.
The House on Friday amended H.266, which the Committee on Health Care presented as legislation to protect 340B covered entities and contract pharmacies, and ordered the bill for third reading.
Representative Rebecca (member from Winooski) explained that the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program, established in 1992, allows qualifying hospitals, health centers and clinics that serve vulnerable populations to purchase outpatient prescription drugs at reduced prices. “The goal of 340B is to stretch our federal resources, allowing those covered entities to provide more comprehensive services to uninsured and underinsured patients,” she said.
H.266 seeks to address restrictions manufacturers have placed on the program that the committee and stakeholders said have eroded savings available to federally qualified health centers and hospitals. The bill would prohibit manufacturers from discriminating against covered entities by restricting acquisition of 340B drugs or requiring covered entities or contract pharmacies to submit claims, utilization, or purchase data as a condition of access, except where federal law mandates otherwise. It would also require manufacturers to offer 340B pricing as a discount at the time of purchase rather than through subsequent rebates and would protect the operational ability of contract pharmacies to dispense 340B drugs without interference.
The bill includes legal remedies for covered entities harmed by violations, including injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, and establishes annual reporting requirements for hospitals participating in 340B. Those hospitals would report savings, payments to contract pharmacies, and reinvestment back into Vermont community care to the Green Mountain Care Board. The reporting requirement carries a five-year sunset for review of the data collection.
Representative Rebecca said the Committee on Health Care reviewed broad stakeholder testimony, including representatives of community health centers, hospitals, pharmacy operators, insurers and the Office of the Health Care Advocate. The committee reported the bill out with bipartisan support on a 10-0-1 vote.
On the floor the House voted by voice to amend the bill as recommended by the committee, and ordered third reading. The transcript records voice votes and does not provide roll-call counts for the floor actions.
Actions recorded on H.266 were committee amendments adopted and ordering the bill for third reading; the bill’s effect on federal program operation and potential legal exposure for manufacturers and covered entities would be determined by final bill text and any future judicial or administrative review.
