Hospital groups file lawsuit to stop OPPS payment cut for 340B hospitals

The AHA joined by the Association of American Medical Colleges and America’s Essential Hospitals today filed a federal lawsuit to prevent the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from reducing Medicare payments for hospital outpatient drugs under the 340B Drug Pricing Program by nearly 30%. Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems in Brewer, ME, Henry Ford Health System in Detroit and Adventist Health System’s Park Ridge Health in Hendersonville, NC, joined the associations in the lawsuit, which argues that the 340B provisions of the outpatient prospective payment system final rule for calendar year 2018 are unlawful and exceed the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ authority under Medicare law and the Public Health Services Act. “From its beginning, the 340B Drug Pricing Program has been critical in helping hospitals stretch scarce federal resources to enhance comprehensive patient services and access to care,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. “CMS’s decision to cut Medicare payments for so many hospitals for drugs covered under the 340B program will dramatically threaten access to health care for many patients, including uninsured and other vulnerable populations. This lawsuit will prevent these significant cuts from moving forward.”