As we reach the third-year mark since pharmaceutical manufacturers began to restrict access to 340B pricing in the contract pharmacy setting, we recently experienced a watershed moment that I believe will lead to an end of the standoff between the government and the pharmaceutical industry.

Earlier this month, 340B Report broke the news that national hospital groups have reversed course and now are actively lobbying Congress to pass legislation that would prohibit drug companies from limiting access to 340B discounts at contract pharmacies.  The hospital organizations’ reluctance to back legislation to resolve the impasse was a strategic mistake, giving PhRMA an opportunity to fill the void and form a partnership with the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC).

NACHC told 340B Report that hospitals’ disinterest in legislation to end drug manufacturer 340B contract pharmacy limits motivated it to reach a separate deal with PhRMA. NACHC was publicly calling for such legislation as long ago as June 2022. NACHC says it told hospital groups, to no avail, that its members needed immediate relief from manufacturers’ limits on 340B pricing in the contract pharmacy setting.  The hospital groups’ stance was particularly puzzling since their members are experiencing the most draconian contract pharmacy restrictions. Read more >