NC Hospitals Accused of Overcharging Under 340B Program, Folwell Reveals
Some North Carolina hospitals used a program called the “Federal Safety-Net 340B Drug Pricing Program” to “enrich themselves rather than to serve vulnerable communities,” according to a press release issued by NC State Treasurer Dale Folwell on Tuesday, May 7. Folwell has declared that he will host a news conference on Wednesday, May 8, at 10:30 a.m. to share information about what he believes is blatant misconduct in the medical community.
The 340B Program was established to assist safety-net clinicians in serving low-income patients and rural communities. However, according to Folwell, the program has grown into “the second-largest federal prescription drug program in the nation.”
Under that scheme, hospitals can purchase most outpatient medications at a 35 percent discount from drug producers.
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Despite this, 340B hospitals are not required by law to pass on the reductions to their patients or to invest the savings in care for needy areas.
Folwell wants to see the law amended.
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Folwell, who plans to submit a detailed report on his findings Wednesday morning, alleged that 340B hospitals charged state employees “massive markups” for oncology medications.
This meant that state hospitals made excessive profits per claim for cancer medications covered by the North Carolina State Health Plan for teachers and state employees. Folwell is urging state and federal lawmakers to overhaul the drug pricing system by improving openness and accountability. He’s also encouraging state politicians to negotiate lower hospital prices for cancer patients, state employees, and others.
Folwell invited researchers to analyze State Health Plan medical claims data on outpatient oncology infusion drugs as part of the larger Hospital Transparency Project. The researchers discovered that North Carolina hospitals pursued “greater profits at the expense of vulnerable communities and impoverished patients.”
According to Folwell, state hospitals failed to follow the 340B program’s stated aim.