Sponsors (7)
The bill extends 340B discounts to rural emergency hospitals, improving affordability and financial stability for rural providers and low‑income patients while risking higher program costs, potential cost-shifting by manufacturers, and added administrative burdens.
Rural emergency hospitals gain access to 340B drug discounts, lowering medication acquisition costs for those hospitals and enabling them to stretch pharmacy budgets.
Rural hospitals can expand resources and improve financial viability, helping them maintain local services and emergency care access in underserved areas.
Low-income patients served under qualifying government contracts at these hospitals may face lower out‑of‑pocket drug costs due to hospitals' access to 340B pricing.
Drug manufacturers could respond to expanded discount obligations by raising list prices or tightening patient assistance programs, which may shift costs onto other patients and payers.
Expanding 340B eligibility may increase federal program costs and administrative oversight needs, creating higher expense for taxpayers and government agencies.
Limiting eligibility to hospitals with particular governmental ownership or contractual ties creates additional documentation and compliance burdens for hospitals and HRSA, increasing administrative complexity.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Adds certain rural emergency hospitals to the list of entities eligible for 340B drug discounts when they meet specified ownership or contractual conditions.
Official title: To amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to include rural emergency hospitals in the definition of a covered entity for purposes of the 340B drug discount program.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by John Bergman · Last progress January 3, 2025
Adds rural emergency hospitals to the list of entities eligible to participate in the federal 340B drug discount program when they meet specified ownership or contracting conditions. The change explicitly covers state or local government-owned or -operated rural emergency hospitals, public or nonprofit corporations granted governmental powers, and private nonprofit rural emergency hospitals that contract with a government to serve low-income, non‑Medicare/non‑Medicaid patients. The amendment modifies the Public Health Service Act’s 340B statute by inserting a new clause that references the Social Security Act definition of "rural emergency hospital" and sets eligibility conditions tied to ownership, nonprofit status with governmental authority, or contractual obligations to provide care for certain low‑income individuals.