NC lawmaker: Your drug prices will rise if Congress messes with this drug pricing program | Opinion

Too many North Carolinians today are struggling to access the care that they need.

With healthcare spending per person in the Tar Heel state growing 35% between 2013 and 2021, individuals with limited financial means and even many average families have found themselves increasingly unable to afford necessary medical treatments and prescription drugs. This has led to uneven healthcare outcomes based on socioeconomic status.

But healthcare disparities in North Carolina originate not only from financial barriers but geographic ones as well. The state’s rural population in particular is at a disadvantage, as they must contend with a whole additional set of physical and systemic barriers — in addition to affordability concerns — that make it it more difficult to access the very facilities where they receive care.

Rural hospitals, the front-line providers for these communities, have found themselves under increasing financial pressures that threaten to worsen the already yawning urban-rural healthcare divide. Since 2005, 11 rural hospitals have closed in North Carolina for a total of 361 lost hospital beds, and nearly 1 in 5 of the remaining rural facilities operating in the state are at risk of closing. These hospitals need support so they can continue to serve their patients.

For over 30 years, the 340B Drug Pricing Program has been a critical component of the healthcare system by safeguarding access to lifesaving pharmaceuticals and health services in our nation’s rural communities. The program allows safety net hospitals to offer discounted prescription drugs and has provided them with financial resources to offer charity care to patients in need.

With nearly one-third of North Carolinians cutting pills in half, skipping doses of medicine or opting not fill a prescription due to cost concerns and more than 3 in 5 residents experiencing at least one healthcare affordability burden according to one recent survey, it is imperative we protect programs like 340B.

Despite the fact that the 340B program accounts for a mere 3.6% of the total U.S. drug market, pharmaceutical companies see it as a threat to their bottom line and have actively fought against the program at the expense of patients and hospitals. Because there is no real oversight of the program, many pharmaceutical companies have skirted the statute’s requirements with zero consequences.

It is no secret that drug companies have refused to provide discounts to patients at different pharmacies. This is not only unethical, but it is illegal. They have also tried to turn 340B into a back-end rebate program, which would not only increase the administrative burden on patients and healthcare facilities, it would also force financially vulnerable hospitals to front the cost of drugs with money they don’t have.

Congress, which ostensibly has oversight over 340B, has unfortunately done little to stop this and enforce its own statute. Even worse, some members are now considering changes to the program that would impose new restrictions and institute onerous new bureaucratic requirements on 340B facilities, jeopardizing the financial viability of many rural hospitals and potentially narrowing patients’ access to healthcare.

It is important to remember why Congress created this program back in 1992 — to be a lifeline for hospitals and to support low-income and uninsured patients across the country. Oversight of the 340B program to ensure it is operating as originally intended is well within the scope of the legislative branch, but Congress must be sure that any reforms to the 340B program remain targeted at rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. If leaders in Washington get rid of or limit this program in any way, American patients will suffer.

Neither your financial status nor your zip code should be determining factors on your ability to receive quality healthcare. Programs like 340B help minimize such disparities by providing discounted drugs to patients in need and helping to shore up the financial viability of rural hospitals. For the benefit of all North Carolinians, Congress must protect the 340B program.