Top 3 Things You’ll Learn
- How 340B funds were designed to serve the needs of qualified entities
- How 340B provides added value to qualified hospitals and healthcare facilities
- How 340B can be applied to the hospital employee benefits program
Hospital human resources leaders are responsible for satisfying their employees’ healthcare benefits needs and lowering overall healthcare costs, just like your other employer clients. For hospital leaders to be effective in accomplishing these goals, their pharmacy benefits strategy needs to optimize the unique opportunities and resources available to the hospital, including the 340B Drug Discount Program.
What is 340B?
The 340B Drug Discount Program is a federal government program that allows certain not-for-profit health care organizations to receive medications from drug manufacturers at significantly reduced prices. Qualified facilities include hospitals, clinics, and health centers that serve a large portion of underserved and underinsured populations through their services.
How is 340B Funded?
The biggest misnomer is that the 340B program is funded by tax-payer dollars. The 340B program requires drug manufacturers to provide outpatient drugs to eligible hospitals, and other health care facilities at significantly reduced pricing on prescription medications.
Hospital and health system #pharmacybenefits strategies should focus on optimizing the unique opportunities available to the hospital, including the #340B Drug Discount Program.
How Does 340B Help Hospitals?
Having access to significantly discounted medications enables covered entities to stretch scarce resources as far as possible, reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive services to patients in their community.
How is 340B Applied to Hospital Employees?
To take advantage of the 340B opportunity, hospitals must meet eligibility criteria to be considered a covered entity, and each prescription must meet specific criteria to qualify for 340B pricing. As a covered entity, the hospital would be able to apply their 340B pricing to employees who use the eligible pharmacies.
It’s important that eligible, not-for-profit hospitals have a strategy in place to capitalize on 340B participation and savings opportunities, as well as the compliance concerns that come with it. Without being fully knowledgeable on the nuances of 340B, employers may inadvertently categorize a medication as a 340B prescription that does not qualify, causing compliance problems that could carry significant consequences.
Check out our on-demand webinar to learn more about how to use 340B and other best practice strategies to help your hospital clients lower their pharmacy benefits costs.
