WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today introduced the 340B Reporting and Accountability Act to prevent fraud and bring transparency to the 340B Drug Pricing Program.

“The 340B Drug Pricing Program is supposed to help low-income and uninsured Americans afford their medicine, but some are taking advantage of the program at the expense of vulnerable patients. My bill would protect Louisianians and all Americans from being taken advantage of by ensuring that organizations are transparent about how they use resources from this program,” said Kennedy. 

The 340B Drug Pricing Program is intended to expand the access that low-income and uninsured patients have to their prescriptions by providing them at a discounted rate. Recent reports show that certain hospitals that receive 340B funding are buying discounted drugs and selling them at a higher rate to patients. 

The legislation would not cut the program’s funding or restrict eligibility, but instead ensure that individuals who need this program are the ones who benefit from it by requiring hospitals to pass 340B savings to their patients.

The 340B Reporting and Accountability Act would also require participating organizations to report the following to the Department of Health and Human Services: 

• The total amount of money an organization received from the 340B Drug Pricing Program.
• The total amount the covered entity paid for outpatient drugs.
• How any excess revenue from the program is spent. 

Full text of the legislation is available here.