The lawmakers approached the non-profit system after a Columbus Regional executive said the organization does not receive a “windfall of profits” from the 340B program, which requires drug manufacturers to give deep discounts on certain outpatient drugs to hospitals that serve large numbers of uninsured and underinsured patients.
Columbus Regional is the latest system to be subject to the lawmakers’ scrutiny. They recently probed three North Carolina hospitals’ use of the 340B program.
“When I looked at three North Carolina hospitals’ use of this program, the numbers showed the hospitals were reaping sizeable 340B discounts on drugs and then upselling them to fully insured patients to maximize their spread,” Sen. Grassley said in the news release. “Our inquiry into the Georgia hospital will help us continue to examine hospitals’ use of the 340B program.”
The lawmakers’ letter to Columbus Regional can be read here.
More Articles on Hospitals and the 340B Drug Program:
HRSA Delays 340B Drug Discount Rule
Sen. Grassley Targets Duke, UNC, Carolinas Hospitals for Use of Discount Drug Program
Is Your 340B Program Prepared for an Audit?
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