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Medicare has proposed paying hospitals average sales price minus 33.4% for drugs acquired through the 340B discount program, a sharp retreat from the current reimbursement rate of average sales price plus 6%.
The proposal, released Thursday as part of a rule on hospital outpatient payments, would take effect beginning next year and represents the agency's most aggressive move yet against a program that has divided health policy for years.
What the 340B Program Is The 340B drug discount program allows eligible hospitals to purchase certain pharmaceuticals at reduced prices, with the goal of extending resources for providers that serve low-income and uninsured patients.
Only nonprofit facilities — including safety-net hospitals and academic medical centers — qualify. For-profit hospitals are excluded entirely. Medicare's case for the proposed cut rests on its own survey data.
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