18 Aug Inforum: Hogenson: Proposed health cuts hurt small town North Dakota
“People living in Fargo have access to some of the most comprehensive health care this side of the Mayo Clinic. I know because I’ve received care here and in Rochester, Minn., and it’s very good. But for tens of thousands of North Dakotans living in rural areas, there aren’t as many options for health care.
Many of these rural hospitals are better able to care for patients because of the 340B program, which lets them receive discounted drugs from pharmaceutical companies. The program costs taxpayers nothing; the discounts come straight from the drug makers. These discounts provide additional funding to help small, rural health care providers and their patients. That’s the good news.
The bad news is that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is considering changes to the 340B program that would drain financial resources from these rural hospitals by letting pharmaceutical companies charge more for drugs. The risk is significant in North Dakota because we have a fair number of rural areas and small towns.”
