12 Feb 340BeMyValentine: Putting Patients Back at the Heart of the 340B Drug Pricing Program
A Valentine’s Day Message to Congress
Valentine’s Day is about caring and connection—the same values that should drive our healthcare system. The 340B program was created with a clear, heartfelt mission: to provide discounted medications to safety-net providers, ensuring that low-income, uninsured, and underserved patients maintain access to affordable, life-saving medicines.
However, without strong transparency and accountability, the program’s “heart” is being lost. Today, we are calling on Congress to restore the original intent of 340B, ensuring that the program remains focused on the people it was created to serve rather than being diverted into hospital revenue.
Right now, a major disconnect exists. The program has evolved into a “buy low and sell high” mechanism where hospitals and intermediaries can purchase drugs at a steep discount and then bill insurers at full price, while the patients themselves see little to no benefit at the pharmacy counter. This turns a program meant to heal into a financial windfall—a shift that undermines the program’s integrity and fails the people it was intended to serve. As the saying goes, “Roses are red, violets are blue — 340B savings belong with patients, not as hospital revenue.”
Congress has the opportunity to be our Valentine by supporting meaningful 340B reform. Lawmakers can be a partner in restoring this patient-centered purpose by demanding transparency through clear reporting on exactly how 340B savings are used. One path toward greater accountability is exploring models like the 340B Rebate Model. Recent analysis suggests this approach could improve transparency without straining hospital resources. This model is already used by AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs), helping to track savings and prevent the estimated $4 billion in duplicate discounts projected for 2026.
Real care is love in action. So, let’s put the focus of the 340B program back where it belongs: on the health and well-being of the patient. It is time to ensure that when it comes to healthcare, it is love at first sight—not a look at the bottom line.