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Originally enacted to help eligible safety-net providers buy medicines at steep discounts and pass the savings on to lower-income and vulnerable patients, the program has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]
In contemporary lexicon, few terms have been reduced to shopworn tatters more than “fascist,” typically through mindless overuse against the current democratically elected occupant of the White House.
To the degree that fascism references an economy corrupted by government collusion with private industry to enforce ideological conformity, however, efforts like “Operation Choke Point” targeting politically disfavored businesses actually merit that descriptor.
In welcome news, however, Citigroup announced this month that it would no longer deny financial…
