New Analysis Shows 340B Tax-Exempt Hospitals Provided More Than $56 Billion in Total Benefits to Their Communities

WASHINGTON, DC (June 27, 2019) – Hospitals of all kinds provide a full range of benefits in their communities, including examples such as disaster relief, financial assistance for those in need and clinics for the underserved. In a new analysis released today, the American Hospital Association (AHA) found that 340B tax-exempt hospitals provided more than $56 billion in total benefits to their communities in 2016 alone, the most recent year for which comprehensive data is available. This is an increase from the more than $50 billion in total benefits that 340B tax-exempt hospitals provided to their communities in 2015.

Last month, the AHA released a separate analysis showing that all tax-exempt hospitals provided $95 billion in total benefits to their communities in 2016. This means that hospitals’ and health systems’ community benefit activity outweighs the value of their federal tax exemption – which was $9 billion in 2016 – by a factor of nearly 11 to one.    

“Hospitals and health systems of all kinds and sizes are hard at work delivering a wide variety of benefits tailored to meet the needs of their diverse communities,” said Tom Nickels, executive vice president of the American Hospital Association. “This report demonstrates once again the significant value that the 340B drug savings program allows eligible hospitals to provide for their communities through a range of important programs and services, many of which would otherwise be unavailable.”

The savings from 340B discounts are an important source of support for a wide range of community benefits and services and accrue directly from discounts on prescription drugs and not from government funds. That is why Congress created the 340B program over 25 years ago, relying on savings from drug discounts “to stretch scarce Federal resources as far as possible, reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive services.” This analysis confirms that 340B hospitals are meeting and exceeding that goal.

The full analysis can be found HERE.

###

Contact:       

Colin Milligan, (202) 638-5491

Marie Johnson, (202) 626-2351

About the AHA

The AHA is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the improvement of health in their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which include nearly 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks and other providers of care. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit the website at www.aha.org.