Congressman Earl Carter (R-Ga.) introduced legislation Tuesday to increase transparency into the 340B drug pricing program by requiring hospitals to report low-income utilization rates for outpatient services, as well as for inpatient services in the main hospital and child sites.
340B eligibility can be partially determined by a hospital's Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) status, which is a formula based on a hospital’s share of low-income and uninsured patients. Carter said that the bill, titled the 340B Optimization Act, seeks to provide a better understanding of patient makeup of DHS hospitals to ensure the 340B program is being used in the most effective way for the most vulnerable patients.
In January, the House Energy and Commerce Committee published a review of the Medicare 340B program detailing flaws in the program's administration, oversight and transparency, while offering suggestions for improvement (see BioCentury Extra, Jan. 10).
In March, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced legislation to increase transparency to the 340B program by requiring participating hospitals to report the total acquisition costs for drugs collected through the program, as well as revenues received from all third party payers for such drugs (see BioCentury Extra, March 1).