RWC-340B Applauds Newly Reformulated Senate 340B Bipartisan Working Group
Bipartisan Working Group includes U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.)
WASHINGTON – Ryan White Clinics for 340B Access (RWC-340B) is pleased to welcome the newly announced members of the Senate 340B Bipartisan Working Group – Senators Kaine (D-Va.), Mullin (R-Okla.), and Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) – and thank the continuing Working Group members for their leadership and commitment to the program – Moran (R-Kan.), Baldwin (D-Wis.), and Capito (R-W.V.) We applaud these members for leading the charge to preserve and protect the 340B program for patients and communities.
RWC-340B appreciates the Working Group’s efforts over the last few years to engage in a formal, deliberative policy process with all stakeholders to review the 340B program, a carefully constructed policy solution to reign in drug prices for specific safety new providers. RWC-340B provided detailed analysis and review of the program and well as our Statement of Principles to inform the ongoing work.
“The 340B program empowers Ryan White clinics to care for their patients holistically, enabling these clinics to be a key driver in the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, advanced by the Department of Health and Human Services under multiple administrations,” said Shannon Burger, president of Ryan White Clinics for 340B Access and CEO of Cempa Community Care. “Ryan White clinics rely on 340B savings to provide critical services that would otherwise be uncompensated, ranging from free or discounted medications to critical wrap-around support services for people living with HIV including primary care, case management, dental and behavioral health, and other support services.”
The bipartisan 340B program serves as the backbone of the U.S. public health infrastructure, without taxpayer expense, by allowing manufacturers to voluntarily access these massive federal payer markets (Medicaid and Medicare Part B) in exchange for their participation in the 340B program. Bill Keeton, officer of RWC-340B and chief advocacy officer of Vivent Health said, “The savings makes HIV/AIDS care possible for people who can’t afford it and funds health programs that would not otherwise be financially viable – primary care, specialty care, mental health and wraparound services. 340B is stable and predictable. It is not funded by tax dollars. 340B provides essential savings to the safety net that enables providers to care for people and communities.”
RWC-340B calls on Congress ensure that any changes to the program are in line with the stated legislative intent of the 340B program is to “enable(s) covered entities to stretch scarce federal resources as far as possible, reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive services.[1]
“Data shows that RWCs are extremely successful in helping patients achieve sufficient viral suppression so that they cannot transmit HIV,” said Rob Renzi, vice president of RWC-340B and CEO of Big Bend Cares. “The key to controlling and ultimately ending the AIDS epidemic is testing people who don’t know they have the virus, getting them into treatment if they test positive, and retaining them in treatment – none of which is currently covered or adequately reimbursed by insurance. Grant funding alone is woefully insufficient in meeting these patient’s comprehensive needs.”
RWC-340B strongly opposes any attempt to restrict the reach of the 340B program. Restrictions erode program impact, endanger health outcomes, and create a scenario where taxpayers will pay while pharmaceutical manufacturers profit.
About RWC-340B
Ryan White Clinics for 340B Access (RWC-340B) is a national organization of HIV/AIDS medical providers receiving support under the Ryan White CARE Act. The CARE Act provides funding for services primarily to poor and/or uninsured people with HIV/AIDS. Ryan White providers are eligible to participate in the federal 340B Drug Discount Program, which enables them to expand and support care. To preserve access to this critically important program, members of RWC-340B have pledged to work together to advocate for the interests of fellow 340B Ryan White providers.
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[1] H.R. Rep. No. 102-384(II), at 12 (1992).
Read the official press release here: RWC-340B Applauds Newly Reformulated Senate 340B Bipartisan Working Group Press Release.