Last Monday at the 340B Coalition Summer Conference, Director of the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Office of Pharmacy Affairs, Cmdr. Krista Pedley, announced that HRSA’s mega-guidance for the 340B drug-discount program would be finalized in December. A few days following the Director’s remarks the House Committee on Appropriations released the following:
“The Committee recognizes that OPA published the first, comprehensive program guidance for the 340B program, and expected this guidance to provide clarity for all stakeholders. The Committee is concerned about the large number of negative comments on the guidance. The Committee is also aware that the 340B statute requires HRSA to make 340B ceiling prices available to covered entities through a secure website, but that OPA has failed to meet its own deadlines to complete work on the secure website.” (H.Rep. No. 114, pg. 33, 2016)
This is a substantial victory for health care providers and communities across the country that raised their voice about the negative impact HRSA’s proposed “mega-guidance” restrictions could have on patients. “The House Appropriations Committee’s concerns are justified by the alarming amount of negative public comments on HRSA’s proposed restrictions,” said 340B Matters Coalition spokesman Hans Klingler. “Hundreds of hospitals and health care providers from around the country, especially those in rural areas, submitted testimony with significant concerns highlighting the government’s lack of understanding about what the consequences at the local level will be if the restrictions are implemented.”
Before it’s too late, make your voice heard by adding your name to the change.org petition. More than 17,700 people have already joined our cause. Together, we can make a difference by sending a message to Washington to stop the proposed mega-guidance restrictions in their current form because they would immediately cut vital healthcare services in communities across the country.
