340B State Legislation: Virginia
Overview
The Virginia state legislators are considering a bill that would encourage the growth of the 340B program, which would exacerbate the negative impact of the program on employers and working families.
The 340B program enables participating hospitals to purchase medications at significant discounts and sell them to plan sponsors at the prevailing rate. This is a “buy low, sell high” scheme that results in profits at the expense of working families. There is no guarantee that 340B profits are passed to vulnerable patients in our local communities. At the same time, the program pushes prices higher by incentivizing hospital systems to raise drug markups, consolidate, and prescribe more expensive medications rather than lower-cost biosimilars.
This proposed legislation stands to increase employer costs by $9 per beneficiary, costing Virgina employers an additional $37 million per year.
The National Alliance and the Mid-Atlantic Business Group on Health together urge policymakers to pass reforms to improve program oversight instead of legislation that further encourages 340B growth.
340B Employer Resources
Explore these additional resources for more information on the impact of 340B and this proposed legislation on working families in Virginia.
