GAO report: More oversight needed on program that gives safety net providers discounts on outpatient drugs

Under this program, known as the 340 B program, drugmakers provide discounts to community health centers and other health care providers that treat vulnerable populations in exchange for having their drugs covered by Medicaid.

Modern Healthcare: GAO Urges Greater Oversight For Drug Discount Program
Additional oversight of the hospitals and clinics covered by the 340B drug discount program is needed even though participants' use of program is consistent with its purpose, according to a Government Accountability report. The Health Resources and Services Administration, the federal agency that administers and oversees the program, agreed with the GAO recommendations. The 340B program gives safety-net providers discounts on outpatient drugs (Lee, 9/24).

Politico Pro: GAO: 340B Program Needs Better Oversight
HHS is not providing adequate oversight of a program that grants discounted drugs to safety-net providers, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Friday, a day after three top Republicans sounded alarm bells about the department's watchdog role. Under the 340B program, drugmakers agree to provide discounts to community health centers and other providers that take care of vulnerable populations, in exchange for having their drugs covered by Medicaid. The report finds that the office that oversees the program, the Health Resources and Services Administration, exercises "oversight of the 340B program [that] is inadequate to provide reasonable assurance that covered entities and drug manufacturers are in compliance with program requirements -; such as, entities' transfer of drugs purchased at 340B prices only to eligible patients and manufacturers' sale of drugs to covered entities at or below the 340B price" (Feder, 9/23).