The American Hospital Association is leading an initiative to improve transparency within the 340B drug pricing program.
Five things to know:
1. The 340B drug-pricing program, enacted nearly three decades ago, enables hospitals and other organizations that treat a large number of low-income and uninsured patients to buy certain outpatient drugs from drugmakers at a discount.
2. On Sept. 18, AHA leaders, in collaboration with individual hospitals participating in 340B, announced good stewardship principles. The voluntary principles aim to improve transparency within drug-pricing program and help hospitals improve communication about the effects of the program on their patients and the communities they serve.
3. The three good stewardship principles are: "communicate the value of the 340B program"; "disclose hospital's estimated 340B savings"; and "continue rigorous internal insight."
4. Under the first principle, the 340B hospital annually publishes a narrative that describes community benefits associated with program savings, such as improvements in access to care, according to the AHA. The second principle entails annual public disclosure of the hospital's estimated 340B savings, calculated via a standardized method. Under the third principle, the hospital continues internal reviews to ensure compliance with federal rules for 340B.
5. The AHA announced the good stewardship principles days after it and six other health organizations sued the Department of Health and Human Services for delaying the implementation drug-pricing transparency regulations.
More information about the good stewardship principles is available here.
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