AHA: GAO report on 340B program misses the mark

A July 6 Government Accountability Office report examining Medicare Part B spending at hospitals participating in the 340B Drug Pricing Program draws unsubstantiated conclusions about a program that has a proven track record of improving access to care for poor patients and vulnerable communities, wrote AHA Senior Vice President Tom Nickels in an AHASTAT blogpost. “Simply put, the GAO report misses the mark,” said Nickels. “The AHA, along with the Department of Health and Human Services, has concerns about the methodology GAO used to conclude that financial incentives were driving 340B Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospitals to prescribe more drugs or more expensive drugs to treat Medicare Part B patients.” When examining Medicare Part B spending per beneficiary at 340B DSH hospitals, Nickels said, “GAO does not adequately account for differences in patients’ health status or outcomes.” In addition, he said the report does not appropriately account for certain differentiating factors and characteristics of 340B DSH hospitals, including their negative 10% outpatient Medicare margins in 2012 and the large percentage of uncompensated care they provide.