The Center for American Principles submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) supporting its proposed adjustment to Medicare payments for drugs acquired through the 340B Drug Pricing Program.
In the letter, CAP argues that federal reimbursement rates should reflect evidence of what hospitals actually pay to acquire medicines. Following a Supreme Court ruling requiring CMS to survey hospital acquisition costs before varying 340B payment rates, CMS found that hospitals acquired 340B drugs at an average of 33.4 percent below the average sales price. In some cases, a Medicare beneficiary’s coinsurance alone exceeded the hospital’s entire acquisition cost for the drug.
CAP notes that the proposed adjustment would not reduce the discounts hospitals receive from pharmaceutical manufacturers or change eligibility for the 340B program. Instead, it would more closely align Medicare reimbursement with actual acquisition costs while reducing seniors’ estimated coinsurance costs by approximately $1.15 billion in the first year.
The letter also emphasizes that the proposal is budget-neutral, with savings from 340B drug payments redirected toward higher Medicare payments for other outpatient hospital services. CAP argues that Medicare can both pay an accurate price for medicines and fairly reimburse hospitals for the care they provide.
CAP urges CMS to finalize the proposed adjustment, calling it an overdue first step toward ensuring Medicare does not continue paying substantially more for 340B medicines than hospitals actually pay to acquire them.