A federal appeals
court has upheld a ruling that will allow the Trump administration to begin
cutting $1.6 billion from the 340B drug pricing program. Yesterday, the
three-judge D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel confirmed
that the American Hospital Association (AHA) and other hospital groups lack
standing to challenge the planned reductions to the 340B program, in line with
a lower court decision issued last December. The ruling means that the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can proceed with a Medicare rule
designed to slash payments to providers for certain drugs under the 340B
program by nearly 30 percent, a move the agency argues will bring hospitals'
pay more in line with their cost of buying the drugs. Provider groups have
contended that the deep cuts will force some hospitals to leave the 340B
program or close altogether and that HHS overstepped its bounds by cutting
payments without congressional authorization. The appeals court backed a federal
judge's earlier conclusion
that the hospital industry could not take legal action until it has a claim
that has been rejected by Medicare under the new rule. AHA, the Association of
American Medical Colleges, and America's Essential Hospitals issued a statement
declaring, "We will continue our fight to
reverse these unwarranted cuts and protect access for patients, and we expect
to refile promptly in district court.”
Legislative Update:
AHA also responded
in a separate letter
to provisions related to the 340B drug savings program, calling any focus on
the 340B program as part of a plan to lower drug prices "misplaced."
The 340B program "is working as Congress intended to help hospitals and
other covered entities expand access to lifesaving prescription drugs and
comprehensive health care services in vulnerable communities across the
country, including to low-income and uninsured individuals," the letter
states. "Added regulatory requirements to curtail the 340B program,
particularly for hospitals, would only benefit drug manufacturers, who could
drive up already sky-high margins by forcing hospitals to pay higher prices for
a portion of their drugs. In the end, it is the patients and the communities
served by the 340B hospitals that would ultimately pay the price through
limited access to needed services."
