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Washington hearing exposes sharp split over 340B expansion and reporting in SSB 5981
Summary
The House Appropriations Committee heard hours of technical briefings and sharply divided testimony on SSB 5981, which would expand reporting and fee authority tied to the federal 340B drug discount program. Safety‑net providers urged transparency to protect vulnerable patients; manufacturers and employers warned of lost rebates, higher costs and federal preemption risk.
Ethan Moreno and committee staff opened the hearing by briefing members on SSB 5981, which would require hospitals, federally qualified health centers and manufacturers to report acquisition costs, claims counts and other data about 340B‑eligible drugs to the Health Care Authority (HCA) and would allow HCA to set a tiered annual filing fee and civil penalties for noncompliance.
The fiscal picture was a central theme. Committee analysts told members HCA estimates roughly $608,000 per year to administer the reporting system and several full‑time staff; that estimate underpinned committee questions about who should bear the administrative cost and whether a fee cap or tiering was needed.
Proponents from safety‑net hospitals, tribal health programs and patient groups said the bill would…
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