What Does the GOP Trifecta Mean for 340B?

In January, Republicans will achieve what’s known as a governing trifecta – taking control of the executive branch combined with GOP majorities in both the U.S. House and Senate. How will this new dynamic affect the 340B world? We discuss what is ahead with McDermott+ vice presidents Rodney Whitlock, a former Republican legislative staffer, and Debbie Curtis, a former Democratic legislative staffer.

Capitol Hill Shakeups and New Faces

Several 340B champions are set to leave Congress through retirement or new appointments, including Reps. Elise Stefanik and Abigail Spanberger as well as Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Ben Cardin. But this provides an opportunity to speak to newly elected lawmakers to express the value of 340B and what it means for their constituents.

Preparing for 340B Oversight

The new Congress could bring oversight hearings and other opportunities for 340B critics to speak out. Although 340B has faced and surmounted challenges before, this will require getting back to core advocacy efforts designed to protect the program.

Trump’s Second Term

How the second Trump administration will fill key roles and the decisions they make on health policy issues could impact 340B. The implementation of Inflation Reduction Act drug pricing provisions also will affect 340B and could lead to discussions about additional changes to the program.

Resources:

1. Create or Update Your 340B Impact Profile
2. Read Our Analysis of J&J’s Legal Arguments for 340B Rebates
3. Lilly, Kalderos Press Federal Court for Ability To Impose Rebates

The focus of attention on cancer care most often goes to the curative treatments required to put cancer into remission, but what do cancer survivors need after that point to fully recover and lead their best possible lives? We discuss that question and how 340B can help answer it with guests Sarah Loschiavo and Ellen Morris-White, two nurse practitioners with UConn Health based in Farmington, Conn.

Survivorship Care at a Crucial Time

UConn Health’s Cancer Survivorship Program is led by advanced practice registered nurses who provide comprehensive care and support to cancer patients starting three to six months after their curative cancer treatments are complete. With the help of 340B funding, the multidisciplinary program is broad in scope, including referrals to meet cancer survivors’ physical, psychosocial, spiritual, and financial needs. The goal is to keep patients on the road to recovery and to continue screening for any cancer recurrence or secondary cancers that could occur.

340B Is Key To Covering Costs

UConn Health covers the costs of its survivorship care, and low-income patients can receive additional financial assistance for their ongoing cancer therapies through this program. 340B funding is essential to making that happen. Over time, the program is expected to decrease health care costs by avoiding hospital readmissions and cancer recurrences.

Building Out Best Practices

Evidence on survivorship care models is lacking, but UConn Health has worked on research that could provide some best practices for other institutions. Although there is no one-size-fits-all approach for hospitals, they can use elements of the nurse practitioner-led, interdisciplinary model to meet cancer patients’ needs months and even years after curative treatment.

Resources:

1. UConn Health Cancer Survivorship Program
2. Designing, Implementing, and Evaluating an Interprofessional Survivorship Model of Care in an Academic Cancer Center

The 340B drug pricing program is crucial for safety-net hospitals and other providers that care for patients in need, especially those whom traditionally have been underserved by the broader health system. We speak with Dr. Tony Jackson, assistant vice president for pharmacy services at Scripps Health in San Diego, for his views on why 340B is “all about health equity.”

340B Helps Serve the Underserved

Jackson stresses the variety of services and support that 340B funding enables at Scripps Health. Because of 340B, Scripps can serve large populations of patients in the area who are homeless, lack health coverage, and are dealing with higher rates of chronic illness and disease. It does so in part through partnerships with community health centers and other community groups on outreach to those populations.

Restrictions to 340B Threaten Patient Care

340B savings help support vital Scripps services that include emergency department care, access to specialists, discharge and maintenance medications, and community health benefits such as disease screenings. Jackson notes that drug company restrictions on access to those savings threaten such services and risk creating health care deserts in the area.

Representation and Advocacy Matter

Jackson is part of the Association of Black Health-System Pharmacists (ABHP), which works to increase Black representation in the pharmacy field with the goal of improving underserved patients’ trust in pharmacists and access to needed care. He notes how ABHP leaders have advocated for 340B with the understanding of how important it is to the pursuit of health care equity.

Resources

1. 340B Health Equity Report 2023
2. Black Pharmacists Stand as Advocates in Support of 340B Access to Care
3. Senate Letter to HHS on Rebates