TAKE ACTION

RWC-340B is actively engaged in the following activities. See our recent advocacy and join us in current activations.

RWC-340B member and friends,

On July 9, Representatives McKinley (R-WV) and Spanberger (D-VA) introduced the PROTECT 340B Act of 2021 (H.R. 4390). The bipartisan PROTECT Act would prevent pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and other third-party payers from paying below-market rates or engaging in other discriminatory contracting practices that undermine participation in the 340B Program by Ryan White clinics, federally qualified health centers and other safety net providers. RWC-340B was a key contributor to the development of this bill.

To advance the legislation in the House, we need your help enlisting members of Congress to support the bill. We ask that you please contact your Representatives as soon as possible and request that they cosponsor the PROTECT Act (H.R. 4390). Note that the bill is introduced in the House and there is no Senate companion bill yet.

To solicit the support of your Representatives, follow these instructions:

• Review our sample email correspondence (below).
• Copy and paste the sample email into a new email.
• Personalize the email by adding the requested information or other key facts about your clinic, patients, or community.
• To look up by our representatives by your zip code, CLICK HERE and follow the instructions to contact your legislator.

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SAMPLE EMAIL FROM RWCs TO REPRESENTATIVES

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URGENT REQUEST: Cosponsor PROTECT 340B Act of 2021 (H.R. 4390)

Dear [INSERT NAME OF LEGISLATOR],

As a Ryan White clinic in [INSERT LOCATION], we are facing a serious threat to our participation in the 340B Drug Pricing Program that, if left unchecked, will undermine our ability to serve our patients and communities. We are not only on the frontlines fighting to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic, but also protecting our communities from COVID-19.

I ask that you cosponsor the bipartisan PROTECT 340B Act of 2021 (H.R. 4390), introduced on July 9, 2021, by Representatives McKinley and Spanberger.

This bill is crucial to stopping for-profit PBMs and other payers from usurping the benefit of the 340B Program by singling out 340B providers and their contract pharmacies for reduced reimbursement or engaging in other discriminatory practices that interfere with our pharmacies’ participation in the Program. Unless Congress takes action, our ability to provide care for vulnerable patients will continue to erode. Specifically, the bill…

• Prohibits health insurers and their PBMs from paying below-market rates or engaging in other discriminatory contracting practices that undermine our participation in the 340B Program;
• Prohibits PBMs/other payers from restricting or interfering with a patient’s choice regarding receipt of medications from a 340B provider or contract pharmacy; and
• Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to contract with a neutral, third-party to serve as a claims data clearinghouse to protect drug manufacturers from giving Medicaid rebates and 340B discounts on the same drugs.

[INSERT YOUR CLINIC NAME] relies on the savings and revenue generated from the 340B Program to fulfill the Program’s stated legislative intent – to provide more comprehensive care and serve more patients regardless of their ability to pay. We use our 340B savings and revenue to [INSERT SPECIFIC HIGHLIGHTS ABOUT HOW YOUR CLINIC PROVIDES MORE CARE AND MORE SERVICES USING 340B]. But payers’ discriminatory payment and contracting policies are threatening our clinic’s ability to provide care to medically vulnerable and often uninsured or underinsured individuals and impeding our outreach to the community to care for and prevent HIV/AIDS.

Thank you for your consideration. On behalf of our patients and the communities we serve, we respectfully ask that you cosponsor H.R. 4390.

[INCLUDE YOUR NAME, TITLE AND CONTACT INFORMATION]

 

Please contact Peggy.Tighe@PowersLaw.com if you have any questions. Thank you!