Health Market and Policy Network

The 340B program was designed to help hospitals serve low-income patients. But today there is little transparency and many hospitals are pocketing the savings instead of passing them to patients. As @SteveForbesCEO explains, the Trump administration’s rebate model would create a clearer paper trail and help ensure the program benefits the patients it was meant to serve.

Doctors are stretched thin. Appointments last 10–15 minutes. Not every option gets discussed. That’s why access to information matters. Drug ads inform patients to ask about treatments they didn’t know existed — and start conversations that might not have happened otherwise. Limiting that flow of information doesn’t protect patients — it narrows their choices before they ever walk into the exam room.

Minnesota hospitals reported $1.34 billion in net revenue from 340B in 2024. The program was created to support care for low-income patients. Yet premiums and out-of-pocket costs keep rising. Transparency matters. If a program is designed to help patients, the savings should reach patients.

When the IRA caps premiums, lowers cost-sharing, and increases plan liability all at once… costs don’t disappear. They shift straight to taxpayers. The results? Fewer plans, higher rates, and billions more in subsidies.

Patients don’t get informed from one source. As @CZ explains, they learn from doctors, caregivers, media coverage, and yes, drug ads — all of it helps them weigh risks and benefits and choose what’s right for them. Silencing coverage of FDA-approved treatments doesn’t protect patients. It keeps them in the dark.

New reporting reveals how the 340B program has evolved into an $81 billion revenue engine. Hospitals buy drugs at steep discounts, charge patients higher prices, and keep the spread. Meanwhile, contractor Apexus reportedly earns massive revenues and sky-high margins administering the program. Time to restore 340B to its original purpose: helping low-income patients — not enriching hospitals and contractors.

California got hit with serious questions about Medicaid misuse — and instead of answers, offered a diversion. In 2024 alone, the state claimed more than $4.5 billion in federal “emergency” Medicaid spending. Taxpayers deserve answers. H/t @sallypipes

Patients deserve information, not gatekeepers. As MS patient & PPS co-founder @CZ explains, access to treatment information, including through drug ads, helps patients ask better questions and make better decisions with their doctors. Informed patients are empowered patients.

The 340B program has drifted far from its original purpose. Instead of lowering costs for patients, it now rewards higher drug prices and hospital profit-taking—leaving patients and families to pay more. @rclong1997 breaks it down ⬇️ youtu.be/dyb1_cAS-R8?si…

NEW Op-ed from @RealJoeGrogan: Hospitals are fighting a one-year test to bring transparency to the 340B drug program. Why? Instead of lowering costs for patients, the program now pads hospital margins and drives prices higher for families and taxpayers.

Alzheimer’s is threatening both patient health and family finances — but progress is within reach. Early screening, smarter prevention, and faster access to new treatments can help Americans stay healthier, longer.

A program that’s grown to $66B and has been shown to drive up healthcare prices should welcome accountability. Instead, hospitals are suing to block a pilot meant to introduce reasonable transparency to 340B. It shouldn’t be controversial to make sure a program designed to help patients actually works for patients.