DPC Responds to CMS Request of Comments on Medicare Program, 340B Drug Pricing
The Domestic Policy Caucus today responded to a Request for Comments on A Proposed Rule by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, “Medicare Program: Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems; and Quality Reporting Programs; etc.,” specifically providing comments on the 340B drug pricing program.
DPC wrote, in part, “Congress created the 340B Drug Pricing Program over three decades ago to help genuine safety-net providers improve access to quality care for low-income communities, and later expanded it to reach rural communities directly, extending eligibility to the critical access hospitals, rural referral centers, and sole community hospitals on which many rural areas depend. Unfortunately, that original purpose has been taken advantage of, driving unprecedented program growth in recent years. Rural communities have been particularly affected by this shift. The costs of an unchecked and expanding program are borne across Medicare, Medicaid, and drug prices generally, and they fall most heavily on rural families who already contend with fewer providers, longer travel to care, and less financial flexibility. Aligning Medicare’s payments with hospitals’ actual acquisition costs is a measured step toward restoring the program’s integrity and, as a budget-neutral policy, would drive increased payments to small, rural providers across the country where resources are needed most.”