Almost immediately after the Department of Health and Human Services announced a pilot program to test using a rebate model in the 340B Drug Pricing Program, members of Congress responded with proposed legislation that would prevent HHS from implementing that pilot.
Last week, HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration announced its 340B Rebate Model Pilot Program, a refined version of a previous pilot program that a federal court rejected earlier this year. Under this new model, qualifying drug manufacturers will be able to provide the 340B ceiling price to eligible 340B providers through rebates, an approach manufacturers have increasingly sought, rather than the upfront discounts that providers prefer.
Almost immediately, the Senate 340B Bipartisan Working Group responded by proposing the Supporting Underserved and Strengthening Transparency, Accountability and Integrity Now and for the Future of 340B Act (SUSTAIN 340B Act), which calls for an entirely different approach to ensuring that providers’ claims for 340B rebates are legitimate and not duplicative. Under the Senate bill, the federal government would establish an independent clearinghouse that would coordinate the flow of data between providers and pharmaceutical companies and identify any duplications in claims or other discrepancies. The bill would prohibit the use of rebates as an alternative to upfront discounts, which providers prefer, while attempting to ensure that those upfront discounts are legitimate, which has long been a concern of the pharmaceutical industry.
The SUSTAIN 340B Act addresses other aspects of the program as well.
Learn more about the 340B Model Pilot Program from the Fierce Healthcare article “Revised 340B Rebate Model Pilot Program moves forward, despite provider pushback” and about the SUSTAIN 340B Act from the Fierce Healthcare report “New bipartisan 340B reform bill curbs HHS’ rebate pilot.” Find the 340B SUSTAIN Act here.