As elected officials, it\u2019s our responsibility to represent the best interests of our constituents, to take on the big policies, tackle the big challenges, and sometimes go toe-to-toe with the big players. We may have very different ideas about root causes, strategies, and solutions to address the issues facing the people we are so proud to serve, but our goal is the same \u2013 to serve Coloradans.<\/p>\n
Though we sit on different sides of the aisle, we often hear similar concerns in our districts \u2013 especially about the rapidly rising costs of health care and prescription medications. Both parties have vastly different policies and platforms about how to rein in these costs, but we can both agree on one thing\u2013transparency and accountability are essential.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why we both sponsored Senate Bill 124<\/a>, requiring hospitals to be fully transparent about their participation in \u2013 and their profits from \u2013 the 340B program, a prescription drug discount program that was meant to reduce costs for services to patients, but has expanded so rapidly it may now be actually costing Coloradans more<\/a>.<\/p>\n The 340B program was created over 30 years ago to reduce the costs of prescription medications and increase limited services for rural hospitals, safety-net providers, federally-qualified health centers, and other clinics serving vulnerable, low-income populations. Since its inception, the program has exploded, growing at an average rate of 24% per year since 2015 and is now a whopping $66 billion, making it the second largest pharmaceutical program in the nation, outpacing Medicaid.<\/p>\n While it seems reasonable and even laudable to support the expansion of programs that ensure Coloradans can access the medications they need, more and more evidence is showing the profits large hospital systems receive from the 340B program are not passed on to patients, but rather pocketed by hospital systems and other entities, with little visibility into how these dollars are being spent. Because 340B dollars are attached to the hospital or clinic, the discount doesn\u2019t follow the patient, and in fact most patients are unaware of the prescription discount their hospital received.<\/p>\n For example, if the hospital buys a $100 medication for a patient for $35 through 340B pricing, the patient goes to a contract pharmacy, as usual, picks up their prescription, paying the normal out-of-pocket costs to the pharmacy, while the hospital still charges the patient\u2019s insurance company that full $100. If the patient is uninsured, the patient is on the hook for the full amount.<\/p>\n The contract pharmacy receives a fee and the hospital then keeps the rest of the discount \u2013 with the patient never seeing a cent of savings. Colorado workers, employers, union members, and state and local governments incur the full cost. In fact, less than 2% of patients ever receive discounted medication through 340B pricing, while studies show the 340B program is already costing Colorado employers over $150 million annually.<\/p>\n