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Senate Health Committee Chair Introduces Bill to Restrict 340B Drug Discount Program
The legislation would let drugmakers issue retroactive rebates and impose new rules on hospitals and contract pharmacies. Separately, the Trump administration is considering Jeff Vacirca to lead the FDA.
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The chair of the U.S. Senate health committee introduced a bill to restrict the federal 340B drug discount program, Stat reported. The measure would allow drugmakers to issue retroactive rebates instead of the upfront discounts that hospitals currently receive.
Hospitals could still demand discounts only if they pass the savings directly to patients. The bill would also require hospitals to set up a sliding-fee scale for prescription drugs and add limits on the contract pharmacies used to dispense 340B medicines. These provisions align with changes long sought by the pharmaceutical industry.
Jeff Vacirca is among the final candidates under consideration by the Trump administration to lead the FDA, Bloomberg News reported. Vacirca earned a medical degree from St. George’s University and has served as chief executive officer and chairman of New York Cancer & Blood Specialists since 2008.
He supported Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health secretary after President Trump’s 2024 election victory.
