(Part One of a Two-Part Analysis)

After reviewing comments from over 250 stakeholders, meeting with various interest groups and holding regular staff meetings, the U.S. Senate bipartisan “Group of Six” have released a highly anticipated discussion draft bill and a bill summary/request for more information on some of the more contentious issues in the 340B program. Since the draft bill (the SUSTAIN 340B Act) is 51 pages and addresses a host of key areas, I am going devote two columns to this legislation.  Due to the bipartisan nature of the effort and group of lawmakers involved in crafting the proposed bill, I expect the SUSTAIN 340B Act to get more traction than any other 340B reform bill since 2010, the last time a major 340B bill became law. Part Two will be published in early March to give stakeholders plenty of time to submit comments prior to the April 1 deadline.

In Part One, I reflect on the importance of this legislation and a few of the critical areas that are covered including the intent of the 340B program and the structure and scope of the contract pharmacy program. Part Two will focus on other elements including patient definition, duplicate discount protection, child sites, user-fees, and “pickpocketing” protections. Read more >