January 24, 2020
The 340B Drug Pricing Program doesn’t create strong incentives for participating hospitals to use more expensive drugs, according to new research by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). MedPAC said hospitals that participate in the 340B program spend about $300 more on drugs for prostate and lung cancers, but not breast, colorectal or leukemia-lymphoma cancers, and that the higher spending at 340B hospitals seems to be driven by the type of cancer that people are treated for rather than 340B’s financial incentives.