Advocates continue push for vote on 340B reform as new opposition emerges

Advocates say they continue to push for a final vote on a bill to reform the 340B drug program.

The proposal, which received unanimous approval from the Senate last spring but was not called for a vote on the House floor, would bar drugmakers from imposing any restriction on the ability of a 340B covered entity to contract with or designate a 340B contract pharmacy, including restrictions related to the number, location, ownership or type of pharmacy.

Other provisions would have required covered entities to dispense or administer 340B drugs only when in connection with an outpatient healthcare service received by the patient within 18 months.

The proposal has not been called for a concurrence vote in the House due to a rule by House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, that requires a bill to have at least 60 votes before it can be brought for a floor vote.

On Wednesday, Welch filed as a co-sponsor of the legislation.

His office could not immediately be reached for comment on his sponsorship.

Cyrus Winnett, chief public affairs officer at the Illinois Primary Health Care Association, said the centers and hospitals remain in “lockstep partnership” over the proposal awaiting floor action.

“We negotiated a bill that provides the transparency that legislators have said that they need to see in order to support this bill,” he said. “We’ve educated people to the point in which it’s hard to continue educating them, because we’ve been working on this so hard.”

The plan has long been opposed by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which has said federal changes are needed to reform the program and prevent tax-exempt hospitals and for-profit partners from exploiting it.

As the plan awaits action, recent weeks have seen a renewed push of opposition in Springfield.

Faith and community leaders gathered a week ago in Springfield to push opposition to the proposal.

On Wednesday, an advocacy group named BlackDoctor.org called on lawmakers to restart negotiations on the proposal.

Dr. Sharon Allison, a health strategist speaking on behalf of the organization, told reporters in Springfield that they want stakeholders to return to the bargaining table to craft new language to reform the program.

Specifically, Allison said more transparency is needed to prevent hospitals from exploiting the system.

“We need to step back, take a deep breath and bring everybody to the table, and don’t wait forever,” she said. “Let’s do it now that we say, ‘what are the barriers? What are the teeth? What makes sense?’ I think the transparency (language) was very broad, actually, and we need a little bit more teeth.”

Illinois Health and Hospital Association spokeswoman Paris Ervin said the presser is the latest in a coordinated disinformation campaign related to the 340B program.

“(The bill) is a way legislators can support the hospitals that serve their communities without requiring any state funding,” she said. “In fact, similar protections are already in place in 21 other states and have been upheld by multiple courts.”