March 340Buzz: New challenges emerge
Summary
In a long-anticipated move, the Biden administration announced that the COVID-19 public health emergency will end on May 11, throwing into question a host of pandemic flexibilities granted to 340B entities, including remote audits and allowing site registrations outside of the typical enrollment windows. As a reminder, CMS is soliciting comments by March 11 on the best way to identify 340B drugs dispensed to Medicare Part D beneficiaries so they are excluded from rebates under the Inflation Reduction Act. We agree that retail modifiers are not the solution and will provide comments to CMS detailing alternatives based on our experience with the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs and contract pharmacies. If you’re not going to pay taxes, what are you, in fact, doing?” Meanwhile, Democrats tapped Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin to chair the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Related Agencies, which has funding purview over 340B. Essentially, New York is heading down the same path that California took a year ago, requiring covered entities to bill at acquisition costs and add a small dispensing fee, ceding 340B savings to the state.
