Description: Drug Manufacturers Are Restricting Required 340B Discounts
Drug Companies Are Cutting Required 340B Discounts
Since 2020, more than 20 drug companies - AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bausch Health, Bayer, Biogen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Exelixis, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Sanofi, UCB, and United Therapeutics – have imposed unilateral cuts on 340B discounts to safety-net hospitals when drugs are dispensed at community or specialty pharmacies.
The Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) has referred companies to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) for potential fines for violating the 340B law. Each fine can total nearly $6,000 per violation. U.S. federal courts are considering lawsuits that several of the drug companies have filed to stop the federal government from enforcing the 340B law.