Hospitals, including those participating in the 340B Drug Pricing Program, are the true safety-net, not the pharmaceutical industry with its “skyrocketing prescription drug prices and huge profits,” AHA Executive Vice President Tom Nickels writes in an AHASTAT blog post today. Nickels notes that hospitals care for all patients regardless of their ability to pay, and they have provided more than $500 billion in uncompensated care since 2000. He also highlights that hospitals participating in the 340B program use savings from the program to “provide free or reduced-priced prescription drugs to poorer residents” and “reinvest in programs that enhance patient services and access to care.” Nickels also cites various reports detailing the rapid spike in the costs of prescription drugs, including a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services report showing that prescription drug spending increased 12.6% in 2014. For more on the 340B program, visit www.aha.org/protect340B.

Related News Articles

Headline
The AHA July 3 released the Health Care Plan Accountability Update for the second quarter of 2025. The update covers the latest developments in Medicare…
Headline
The Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services today announced the creation of the DOJ-HHS False Claims Act Working Group to combat health care fraud…
Headline
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee June 30 denied a motion for a preliminary injunction by AbbVie in its lawsuit against the state’s…
Headline
The AHA June 27 filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee that defends the state’s 340B contract pharmacy law…
Chairperson's File
Public
Advocacy is a core part of the work of the AHA, protecting and sustaining what hospitals and health systems need to truly care for our communities. We often…
Headline
A U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia judge June 27 ruled against Johnson & Johnson and sided with the Department of Health and Human Services…