340B Drug Pricing Program Contributes to Rising Healthcare Costs and Is Ripe for Reform
The U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee today will host the third hearing in its health care affordability series, specifically examining the role providers and hospitals play in shaping the cost of care for Americans.
While the hearing will likely examine numerous issues, there is none more ripe for reform than the flawed 340B drug pricing program.
Originally enacted to help eligible safety-net providers buy medicines at steep discounts and pass the savings on to lower-income and vulnerable patients, the program has ballooned as a revenue stream for many participating hospitals and contract pharmacy chains.
As the size and complexity of the 340B program has expanded, participating hospitals and contract pharmacies have instead used the program to increase…[more]
Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in as a justice of the Supreme Court more than four years ago, on Oct. 6, 2018. His oath followed perhaps the ugliest Supreme Court Senate confirmation process in history – and that, given the previous examples of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas, is saying something. But when it was all over, Kavanaugh settled in to the court, where he has, by all accounts, performed admirably ever since.
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