Rural Hospitals’ Experience with the 340B Drug Pricing Program
Overview
The 340B Drug Pricing Program (hereafter referred to as the 340B program) enables certain types of safety net organizations to obtain deep discounts on medications delivered during outpatient care, at prices below what is typically offered to Medicaid agencies. Prior to the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act (MMA), few rural hospitals qualified for the 340B program, but the MMA revised eligibility criteria, thereby making more rural hospitals eligible to participate. However, as of April 2006, more than half of eligible rural hospitals were not participating. To understand rural hospital Pharmacy Directors’ perspectives on the 340B program—including the specific program features that presented challenges to participation as well as benefits of participation—two surveys were conducted, one of rural hospitals eligible for the program but not participating, and the other focusing on participating hospitals.