On our radar: 340B hospitals and health centers are girding for a fight

The National Association of Community Health Centers, the lobby for so-called federally qualified health centers, will hold a press conference this Wednesday, Sept. 16, on a growing feud between health centers and drug makers. In recent weeks, at least five drug makers have notified them that they may stop offering some lucrative discounts under a program known as 340B.

The press conference comes after the health center lobby said earlier this month that it was “preparing legal action" against manufacturers over the issue.

The growing feud also comes as health centers are staring down another attack from the Trump administration. A regulation is currently pending at the White House that would force these health centers to share the discounts they recieve on insulin and EpiPens directly with patients. The Trump administration is attempting to use a rare regulatory maneuver, known as an interim final rule, to enact the change in record time. That maneuver is also likely to be challenged in court, though NACHC has not yet clearly promised to do so.

For more on the growing fight between drug makers and hospitals, check out my colleague Ed Silverman’s story here.