For vulnerable patient groups who cannot afford health insurance, the harsh reality involves making difficult daily choices, such as feeding their families or seeking urgent medical care. Here in Tennessee, the number of uninsured individuals has risen by more than 19,000 in the last year. Every Tennessean deserves affordable access to health care, especially those in difficult financial situations.
To address needs like this one and help struggling individuals, a program known as 340B was implemented to ease the costs and accessibility of treatments for underserved communities.
This year marks 32 years since the 340B program was introduced, and in Tennessee alone, there are now 44 340B hospitals. While the program was created to help patients in particularly vulnerable areas access care and afford medications, the original purpose has been lost.
The goal of the program is to alleviate patients’ financial burdens by providing 340B hospitals with substantial discounts on medication. In return, the expectation is that those 340B hospitals will use those savings to provide patients with affordable access to care through discounted charity care or to pass along those savings directly to the patients. Unfortunately, due to a lack of accountability and little to no transparency as to how those savings are used, the resources for patient assistance have been misused for other purposes, leaving patients to pay astronomical medical costs. Not to mention, these patients must navigate these costs on top of the challenges and oftentimes tight budgets that come with living in a more underserved area or without any insurance.
Luckily, our very own leaders, such as U.S. Rep. Diane Harshbarger and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, have taken the initiative to push for legislation to change 340B for the better and bring back its primary focus: helping patients.
The latest bill cosponsored by Congresswoman Harshbarger addresses the 340B program’s flaws, which have become increasingly evident over the years. By cosponsoring this bill, Rep. Harshbarger joins previous statements by Senator Marsha Blackburn in encouraging the improvement of the 340B program to make it a true safety net program for patients in need. An essential aspect of reforming the program is restoring the accountability that’s faded from the program, ensuring 340B hospitals reinvest their profits into lowering medical costs rather than improving their own facilities. Studies revealed that outpatient medicines at 340B hospitals cost over 150% more than those at non-340B hospitals. This is due to hospitals or other industry middlemen, such as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), profiting off the 340B discounts and not directly sharing them with the patients they are intended to help.
This latest legislation’s reform efforts will bring more transparency to the industry, lower patient costs and create more opportunities for affordable, efficient health care. Uninsured Tennessee patients who rely on lifesaving treatments will no longer have to worry about how their next medication will be paid for.
After all this time, the 340B program can finally act as a resource for sick patients in vulnerable communities. Rep. Harshbarger and Sen. Blackburn, on behalf of Tennessee patients, I thank you for your efforts to bring about positive change to the health care industry and ensure that the 340B program effectively serves its intended purpose.
Patsy Writesman is a nationally recognized health care speaker, consultant and owner of ManageHealthCareCosts.com.
