The Domestic Policy Caucus today wrote to Texas legislators, requesting that they not move HB 3265 forward.

In part, DPC Secretary/Treasurer Kent Kaiser, Ph.D., write the following:

On behalf of the Domestic Policy Caucus, I am writing to express our opposition to the expansion of 340B, the federal law on prescription drugs, in Texas, as contained in HB 3265. We ask that you please do not move HB 3265 forward.

An expansion of 340B would create an economic environment in which incentives would be put in place to encourage even more consolidation of healthcare systems, to put healthcare farther out of reach of rural Texans, and to imperil the ability of underserved residents to receive the medications they need, all while lining the pockets of big healthcare systems and giant chain pharmacies. Meanwhile, it would do nothing to reduce healthcare costs, which is what everyone really wants.

As you know, pharmacies are essential to the communities they serve. But in Texas and throughout America, independent drugstores are struggling.

In a 2022 policy brief, the Rural Policy Research Institute reported this troubling fact: The number of independently owned retail pharmacies declined by 16 percent in the United States between 2003 and 2021. According to NPR, that has contributed to the appearance of what are called “pharmacy deserts”—areas where residents must drive more than 15 minutes to a drugstore. Expanding 340B would exacerbate the problem. In fact, according to a 2021 report issued by GoodRx called “Mapping Healthcare Deserts,” Texas is among the states with the most counties having insufficient access to a drugstore. 

Read the full letter here.