A new study says that hospitals that have been saving money through 340B program discounts have generally not been been using those savings to improve care for low-income and other underserved patients, although that’s been one of the program’s missions.
Researchers at Harvard Medical School and the New York University School of Medicine studied data on Medicare beneficiaries from hospitals with 50 or more beds that were just above or below the 340B program’s 11.75 percent disproportionate share hospital threshold.
According to FierceHealthcare, “They found that hospitals eligible for 340B discounts administered more drugs, and also increased their ability to administer more drugs by absorbing physician practices, particularly in oncology. The study, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that 340B participation was linked to an increased number of hematologist–oncologists, ophthalmologists or rheumatologists working in the hospital.
“The study also analyzed the impact of the program on quality improvements and mortality rates for low-income patients and found little evidence that hospitals were investing the 340B savings in these areas. ”
“We found evidence of hospitals behaving in ways that would generate profits, by building their outpatient capacity to administer drugs,” Sunita Desai, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Public Health at NYU School of Medicine and the study’s senior author, said in a public announcement. “But we did not see any evidence that hospitals are investing those profits in safety-net clinics, expanding access to care for low-income Medicare patients or improving mortality in their local communities as the program intends.”
To read the New England Journal of Medicine article on the study, please hit this link.
To read the Fierce report, please hit this link.
