Is charity drug program keeping UF Health Jacksonville healthy or subsidizing Kim Kardashian’s maternity ward?

As drug prices rise, can Congress continue subsidizing charity care at hospitals?

That was the question at the heart of a panel hosted by U.S. Rep. Aaron Bean on Capitol Hill as lawmakers evaluate the future of the 340B Drug Discount program. That federal program in place since 1992 has provided funding to cut costs.

But Karyn Schwartz, Senior Vice President of Policy and Research Development for PhRMA, said the program over the decades has only driven up medication costs as an increasing number of hospitals take advantage of the program.

“More than half of all hospitals qualify, including some of the largest hospital systems, some of the wealthiest hospitals in this country,” Schwartz said. “That actually includes a lot of the hospitals that we see celebrities go to. Both Beyonce and Kim Kardashian had their babies at 340B hospitals.”

Bharath Krishnamurthy, Director of Pharmaceutical Policy of the American Hospital Association (AHA), said it was wrong to point the finger at hospitals. And he scoffed at the idea that hospitals should not be eligible if they treat celebrities. “They go to the hospitals in their community,” he said.

Krishnamurthy said there were already definitions in federal statute determining which patients are eligible for 340B pricing, even if the pharmaceutical industry doesn’t like the regulations.

He specifically cited multiple Florida hospitals that rely on the program and could suffer a significant impact if the program were to simply go away. He said the AHA spoke specifically to Bean constituents relying on UF Health Jacksonville for care.

“What they tell me is that 340B helps them get healthy nutrition food at the food pharmacy that the hospital will set up for their dietary purposes,” Krishnamurthy said.

The panel was moderated by Shayne Woods, Vice President at Alpine Group Partners and a former staffer for U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, a Palm Harbor Republican. He kept pressing both sides about what areas hospitals and pharmaceutical companies agreed upon. That’s a chief focus of Bean’s “Path to Consensus” series.

Schwartz said both sides agree the 340B program should agree in some form, but drug manufacturers see needs for significant guardrails.

“Unfortunately, today it is primarily a hospital markup program, allowing large hospital systems to make hundreds and millions of dollars,” she said. “There is no requirement patients directly benefit through lower costs for their medical care, for their prescription drugs.”