In last month’s column, I wrote about a reprehensible campaign by 340B opponents to tie this critically important drug discount program to the contentious issue of immigration. A dark money campaign started to pour money into red states to try to stall the effort to restore access to 340B discounts in the contract pharmacy setting.

As I said last month, it would be tempting to ignore or dismiss the effort as a cynical or even laughable stretch to tie the 340B program to the contentious issue of immigration, but unfortunately the strategy actually has been somewhat effective. In my own state of Virginia,  Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) caved into pressure by dark money groups to kill a contract pharmacy access bill that had unanimously passed the Virginia Senate and cleared the House by 95-3 margin. Both chambers are narrowly divided by party so there should be no question that any bill that makes it through the legislature by such margins should be signed by the governor.

However, soon after the legislature passed the bill, a dark money group that most recently had orchestrated a pro-tobacco campaign effort released an advertising and media outreach campaign to pressure Gov. Youngkin to veto or stall passage of the bill. As we first reported in 340B Report, a 501(c)(4) non-profit calling itself Building America’s Future (BAF) released an ad titled “Healthcare for Illegal Immigrants.”

In an ominous tone, with video images of activity allegedly being conducted by immigrants lacking permanent legal status, the announcer says: “The border is broken. Millions illegally pouring into our country. But it’s not just the border: Your tax dollars are at work for illegal immigrants. The more we look, the more we find…And free healthcare? They’re using a program currently under investigation called 340B to launder your money and provide free healthcare for illegal immigrants. The more we look, the more we find. We need Republicans to stand up for us.” Read more >