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Originally enacted to help eligible safety-net providers buy medicines at steep discounts and pass the savings on to lower-income and vulnerable patients, the program has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]
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep Arms shall not be infringed.
Astute readers will immediately note the glaring omission in that defective recitation of the Second Amendment’s text.
Less astute readers, in contrast, will lose interest beyond the term “Militia,” smug in their false assurance that it confers some collective state governmental right, and not even notice the omitted words.
Last week, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in New York…
