Follow the money – and you’ll see 340B needs reform

Yesterday’s Senate HELP Committee explained why we need to reform 340B. Plus, we have news about a new coalition (which includes BIO) to fight misinformation and how we can fight avian flu. (723 words, 3 minutes, 36 seconds)

Follow the money – and you’ll see 340B needs reform

Yesterday’s Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing on community health centers raised questions about huge revenues from the 340B drug pricing program—and calls for reform.

What’s 340B? The program allows certain health care providers, including Department of State Hospitals (DSH) and community health centers to receive discounts from drug makers, then submit insurance claims for those drugs at full price. It’s intended to help low-income patients, but it’s increasingly subject to abuse.

Follow the money: Ranking Member Bill Cassidy (R-LA) showed Government Accountability Office (GAO) figures indicating Medicare and Medicaid’s rapid growth as a source of funding for these centers. GAO Health Director Jessica Farb explained that rising government health care spending includes increases in 340B revenues.

“340B is an incredible source of revenue that I don’t even think we know how much there is there,” said Sen. Cassidy, asking GAO to review all community health center funding. Carolina Health Centers CEO Sue Veer said 340B provides vital funding but agreed the system needs reform.

PBM abuse: Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) asked how pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) “steal money from the 340B program.” Veer explained PBMs typically request a rebate of average wholesale price minus 4% for retail drugs and minus 32% for 340B purchases.

Why we’re talking about it: Designed to help hospitals and clinics in underserved communities, the number of 340B participating health care providers has exploded, and so has the abuse of the program. The value of drugs discounted under the program went from $4 billion in 2009 to $43.9 billion in 2021, Bio.News has reported. That’s why 340B must be reformed.

Read: The 30-year-old 340B drug discount program is due for reform

BIO joins coalition to fight misinformation and promote science-based care

A partnership of 50 organizations, including BIO, yesterday announced the establishment of an alliance to advance trust in modern medicine and science-based decision-making.

The Coalition for Trust in Health & Science aims to help Americans “navigate the increasing amount of information available from an increasing number of sources,” said the announcement. “A key aspect of the Coalition’s plan is to mobilize the breadth of its network of members to facilitate rapid-cycle debunking of particularly egregious disinformation and misinformation.”

Why it matters: “The United States is experiencing a tidal wave of misinformation and disinformation, which has real-world health impacts,” explained Dr. Reed Tuckson, the co-founder of the Black Coalition Against COVID, who convened the coalition.

Where can I get more science-based information? Visit Bio.News, our daily news platform with fact-based reporting and analysis on the top biotech stories of the day—and if you received this email from a friend, click here to subscribe and get it in your inbox every weekday.   

More Health News:

Wall Street Journal (Opinion): Joe Biden’s Insulin Fictions
“And despite the intoning about profits, net insulin prices have been flat or declining for years. The few patients who struggle to afford the drug are dealing with distortions in insurance and benefit design, not corporate greed. Not everyone benefits from the discounts negotiated by pharmacy-benefit managers,” says the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board.

Avian flu’s still spreading – and we need biotech solutions

As avian flu continues to devastate poultry and wildlife—threatening a human pandemic—there are measures we need to take now.

ICYMI: Avian flu killed more than 50 million birds in the U.S. last year and is still raging, causing increased egg prices, mass culling on farms, impacts on wildlife, and concerns about humans.

One solution: Vaccinating farm poultry is already used in China, reports Nature. But in the U.S., even expedited vaccine trials take time, and the shots must address the latest strain of virus, a USDA official tells CBS.

Another problem: Vaccinated poultry test positive for the virus, which means they can’t be exported, explains Nature.

Protecting wildlife is harder, but we could focus on inoculating the most vulnerable species, like bald eagles, and farmers can help keep wildlife away from farmed birds.

And while human transmission is rare—so far—there are nonetheless concerns about a future bird flu pandemic.

Biotech intervention is needed: There is one FDA-approved vaccine for humans, ADUENZ, a cell-based vaccine made by CSL Seqirus, which also develops a flu vaccine. Meanwhile, the U.S. government is working with biotech to create a stockpile of avian flu vaccines.

President Biden’s Friday: Receiving German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the White House for a meeting; Ukraine is expected to top the agenda, per The New York Times.

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: The House and Senate are quiet today.