US Supreme Court overturns $1.6B 340B payment cut

[Chartreuse Wombat]

US Supreme Court overturns $1.6B 340B payment cut

The U.S. Supreme Court sided with hospital groups June 15 in a case challenging HHS' 340B payment cuts.

www.beckershospitalreview.com

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Gfunk6]

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing the opinion for the court's unanimous decision, said that absent a survey of hospitals' acquisition costs, HHS may not vary the reimbursement rate for 340B hospitals.

If only this logic could me made in any future rulings regarding CMS cuts. The agency ignores the CoL, inflation, cost of hardware, and the cost of staff in their apparent inexorable procession of reimbursement cuts.

 

[Chartreuse Wombat]

Below is a joint statement from the AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges), America's Essential Hospitals (AEH), and the American Hospital Association (AHA):

"We are pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed with us that the Department of Health and Human Services’ outpatient payment cuts to hospitals in the 340B Drug Pricing Program were unlawful. This decision is a decisive victory for vulnerable communities and the hospitals on which so many patients depend.

340B discounts help hospitals devote more resources to services and programs for vulnerable communities and increase access to prescription drugs for low-income patients.

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled, we look forward to working with the Administration and the courts to develop a plan to reimburse 340B hospitals affected by these unlawful cuts while ensuring the remainder of the hospital field is not disadvantaged as they also continue to serve their communities."