New research shows hospitals in the 340B drug pricing program care for nearly twice as many low-income patients as hospitals not participating in the program. 340B participating hospitals also shoulder a significantly higher burden of uncompensated care.
The study aimed to determine the extent to which Disproportionate Share Hospitals enrolled in 340B geared their services towards vulnerable populations. The program allows these hospitals to offer prescriptions drugs to these populations for less.
Here are three things to know about the new 340B survey data:
1. 340B hospitals provide nearly 30 percent more uncompensated care than non-340B hospitals — $24.6 billion compared to $17.5 billion. Although 340B hospitals accounted for only 35 percent of all hospitals included in the analysis, 340B hospitals provided 58 percent of all uncompensated care. In addition, when taking hospital size into account and looking at uncompensated care as a percent of total patient care costs, 340B hospitals across all hospital sizes provided consistently high levels of uncompensated care.
2. As a percentage of total patient care costs, 340B DSH hospitals provide nearly twice as much care as non-340B hospitals — 41.9 percent versus 22.8 percent — to Medicaid beneficiaries and low-income Medicare patients.
3. A higher percentage of 340B DSH hospitals provide public health and specialized services — many of which are unprofitable but essential to their communities — than non-340B hospitals.
The researchers concluded that based on the three metrics used to describe safety- net hospitals — provision of services to vulnerable populations, a disproportionate amount of uncompensated care and type of care provided — DSH hospitals enrolled in 340B surpass unenrolled hospitals in all criteria, regardless of size.
More articles about the 340B drug pricing program:
Name change: From Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access to 340B Health
Hospitals urge Congress to maintain support for 340B program
Total 340B purchases to reach $16B by 2019: 4 drivers of the program's growth