Tom Nickels, Executive Vice President, American Hospital Association
December 10, 2020
The AHA has long believed that an administrative dispute resolution (ADR) process for the 340B drug pricing program is an important step forward in protecting 340B hospitals and clinics that have been overcharged by drug manufacturers through the program. This process should have been finalized a full decade ago, as the law and Congress called for.
However, on its own, this ADR process is not sufficient to address drug companies' repeated illegal attempts to attack 340B hospitals, and the patients and communities they serve. This includes their most recent efforts to undermine the program by limiting the distribution of certain 340B drugs to eligible hospitals, despite no statutory provisions allowing for such actions. These illegal acts require immediate relief rather than an ADR process.
We continue to urge the Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration to take swift and decisive action to halt these pernicious tactics from drug companies and ensure that 340B drugs remain available and accessible to vulnerable communities across the country.