The Center for American Principles submitted a letter to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) supporting efforts to reform the 340B Drug Pricing Program and ensure the program better serves the vulnerable patients it was created to help.
In the letter, CAP warns that the 340B program has expanded dramatically beyond its intended scope, with purchases growing from $6.6 billion in 2010 to $100 billion in 2025. CAP argues that insufficient transparency and oversight have allowed some hospital systems to retain substantial savings rather than pass those benefits on to patients, while contributing to higher costs for taxpayers, employers, and workers.
CAP also highlights how the program can incentivize hospital consolidation through the acquisition of independent physician practices and clinics, shifting care toward higher-cost hospital-owned settings. At the same time, CAP notes there is little evidence that 340B hospitals consistently pass program savings on to patients.
CAP calls the Senate HELP Committee’s legislative discussion draft a meaningful starting point for reform, highlighting proposals to establish clearer patient eligibility standards, strengthen requirements for child sites and contract pharmacies, and improve reporting and auditing of 340B discounts.
CAP urges lawmakers to establish stronger guardrails and greater oversight to curb waste, abuse, and market manipulation and ensure the 340B program fulfills its original purpose of helping low-income and vulnerable patients.