AHA urges Lilly to drop 340B claims-data policy, proposes neutral clearinghouse

The AHA today urged Eli Lilly to abandon its 340B Drug Pricing Program claims-data policy and work with the AHA to develop a functional third-party clearinghouse. 
 
“Lilly’s policy is unprecedented,” AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack wrote in a letter to Eli Lilly’s CEO. “It will impose onerous costs on 340B hospitals, forcing our members to divert scarce resources away from patient care and toward unnecessary administrative requirements. And it risks limiting patient access to Lilly’s lifesaving, innovative drugs. We therefore invite Lilly to work in good faith with the AHA and our 340B hospital members to find a better path forward than the cycle of escalation that has beset the 340B program in recent years.” 
 
In the letter, the AHA proposed the creation of a neutral, third-party data “clearinghouse” overseen by the federal government to facilitate data exchange between 340B covered entities and manufacturers. 
 
“Put simply, a ‘clearinghouse’ is less burdensome and expensive than Lilly’s unilateral claims-data policy, but it provides the same transparency that both the AHA and Lilly are committed to ensuring,” Pollack wrote. 
 
The AHA has consistently raised concerns to Eli Lilly and the Health Resources and Services Administration, which oversees the 340B program, about these onerous claims-data policies. At least five other drug companies also have announced data policies that require 340B hospitals to provide onerous amounts of pharmacy and medical claims data in exchange for continued access to 340B pricing.