Letter to the editor: Drug savings should go to patients

National Health Center Week, Aug. 3-9, is a timely reminder of the essential role community health centers (CHCs) play across Pennsylvania. More than 400 CHCs in the commonwealth serve more than 1 million patients annually, many of them low-income, uninsured or living in medically underserved communities.

An important tool CHCs use to expand access is the 340B Drug Pricing Program, which requires drug manufacturers to offer discounts to safety-net providers. The program was designed to reduce financial barriers for patients, helping them afford life-saving medications and allowing providers to reinvest in expanded care.

But over time, that mission has been compromised. Large hospital systems, not bound by the same level of accountability, have taken advantage of the program’s lack of transparency. Well-funded hospitals can purchase drugs at steep discounts, bill patients or insurers full price, and pocket the difference. Meanwhile, the patients the program was created to help, especially in rural and low-income areas, are being left behind.

Now, with potential cuts to Medicaid looming, the need for reform is even more urgent. Community health centers are already stretched thin. If 340B savings continue to be siphoned away from true safety-net providers, the consequences for vulnerable Pennsylvanians could be devastating.

Congress must act now to restore the integrity of the 340B program. That means ensuring those funds are reinvested directly in patient care, not used to pad hospital margins.

This National Health Center Week, let’s recommit to a health care system that puts patients first.

Jennifer Riley

Harrisburg

The writer is the statewide executive director of Patients Come First Pennsylvania.