Drugmakers and Providers Push Congress on Drug Discount Rebates
Key Insights
Hospitals and pharmaceutical manufacturers are lobbying lawmakers as Congress weighs changes to the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program (search).
Manufacturers want to replace the program's up-front price cuts with a rebate model requiring providers to pay full price and later recoup the difference.
Hospitals have fiercely resisted the rebate approach, and the dispute has extended beyond the legislative debate.
Hospitals and pharmaceutical manufacturers are pressuring lawmakers to address how medication discounts are distributed as Congress weighs changes to a popular federal drug discount program.
The 340B Drug Pricing Program (search) requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to provide certain health providers with drugs at lower up-front prices to serve high-need populations. In recent years, manufacturers have pushed to overhaul how those discounts are delivered, replacing upfront price cuts with a rebate system that would require providers to first pay full price for drugs, then submit data to recoup the difference. Hospitals have fiercely resisted the change.
The fight has spilled beyond the immediate legislative debate, with both sides seeking to shape how Congress revises the program.