If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, Washington has turned federal prescription drug policy into an eight-lane highway construction project that too often takes taxpayers for a ride.
Congress created the 340B program to give hospitals that serve low-income and uninsured patients access to steep discounts on prescription drugs. But because the law never spelled out how providers should use the savings, this program has devolved into a wasteful form of welfare for large hospital systems. Needy patients are left behind while hospitals cash in.
Helping hospitals pay for drugs that vulnerable patients depend on is a perfectly valid cause. The problem is that lawmakers failed to clearly define who qualifies as a 340B patient and then looked the other way as billions of dollars flowed through an opaque system devoid of accountability. Any serious attempt to preserve this important lifeline for hospitals needs to start with codifying a clear definition of a 340B patient and establishing basic transparency requirements.
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