Category Archives: Guidance

HRSA Notice Provides Clarity on 340B Child Site Registration Requirements

By Richard Davis, Michael French, Madison Hartman and Brenda Maloney Shafer on October 30, 2023 Posted in Covered Entities, Guidance

After months of relative uncertainty, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) published a Notice today confirming the end to a COVID-19 pandemic-era flexibility that allowed unregistered child sites to utilize 340B Program benefits in some circumstances. However, HRSA also introduced new “transition periods” in its Notice, providing covered entities a longer runway to come into compliance … Continue Reading

CMS Proposal to Make One-Time $9 Billion Lump Sum Payment to 340B-Covered Entity Hospitals

By Brenda Maloney Shafer, Richard Davis, Michael French and Madison Hartman on July 17, 2023 Posted in Compliance, Guidance

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently announced its proposal to make a one-time lump sum payment of roughly $9 billion to 340B-covered entity hospitals that were impacted by the agency’s unlawful reimbursement reductions for 340B drugs billed to Medicare Part B from 2018 to 2022. This proposal comes after the Supreme Court … Continue Reading

340B Program Changes on the Horizon? Start Planning Now for Potentially Seismic Impact of Upcoming Genesis Decision

By Michael French, Brenda Maloney Shafer and Richard Davis on October 10, 2022 Posted in Covered Entities, Guidance, Litigation

As the extensively covered Genesis Healthcare, Inc. v. Azar case continues to proceed, 340B covered entities expect to soon receive much-anticipated clarification on what can reasonably constitute a 340B eligible patient. In the meantime, covered entities should begin planning and strategizing now for how such a significant change to the 340B Program would impact its 340B services … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Decision Maintains Status Quo for Disproportionate Share Percentage Calculation: What Does It Mean for the 340B Program?

By Brenda Maloney Shafer, Richard Davis and Michael French on June 24, 2022 Posted in Compliance, Covered Entities, Guidance, Legislation

Earlier today, the Supreme Court released a decision relating to how the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requires hospitals to calculate its disproportionate share percentage. While this percentage is primarily used to determine enhanced reimbursement rates depending on how many low-income patients the hospital treats, it is also used as a minimum 340B eligibility threshold … Continue Reading

The End of a Wild Year for 340B: HHS Issues Advisory Opinion and New GAO Report Sheds Light on HRSA’s Enforcement Pullback

By Brenda Maloney Shafer, Richard Davis and David Blank on January 5, 2021 Posted in Contract Pharmacies, Covered Entities, Guidance, Manufacturers

2020 was a tumultuous year for virtually everyone and everything, and the 340B Program was no exception. As we outlined in previous articles, many drug manufacturers have decided that the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Office of Pharmacy Affairs (“HRSA OPA”) guidance on contract pharmacy[1] arrangements is no longer binding. Accordingly, many drug manufacturers have … Continue Reading

Notice to Covered Entities: Manufacturer Seeking 340B Claims Data

By Brenda Maloney Shafer and Richard Davis on July 10, 2020 Posted in Compliance, Covered Entities, Guidance, Manufacturers

While we addressed recent wins for 340B covered entities concerning manufacturer transparency in a previous article, Merck Sharpe & Dohme Corp. (“Merck” or “Manufacturer”) now appears to seek its own access to 340B covered entity data in a different fashion. Specifically, over the past few weeks, Merck has sent letters to numerous 340B covered entities … Continue Reading

GAO Report Suggests Increased Oversight of 340B Program

By Brenda Maloney Shafer and Richard Davis on February 3, 2020 Posted in Guidance, Legislation

On January 10, 2020, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report which “found weaknesses in the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) oversight [of the 340B Program] that may result in some hospitals receiving discounts for which they are not eligible.” The GAO report primarily focused on the extent to which HRSA is monitoring and reviewing nongovernmental … Continue Reading

The Omnibus Guidance is Dead!

By Alyce Katayama and Elizabeth Gebarski on February 2, 2017 Posted in Compliance, Covered Entities, Guidance

The proposed 340B Drug Pricing Program Omnibus Guidance that was issued in August 2015 and promised to turn the 340B world on its head was withdrawn on January 30, 2017. Not that most covered entities are upset. The proposed 340B Drug Pricing Program Omnibus Guidance proposed a host of changes to the 340B Drug Pricing … Continue Reading

Comparing 340B University and the 340B Coalition Conference

By Alyce Katayama and Elizabeth Gebarski on March 9, 2016 Posted in Audits, Contract Pharmacies, Covered Entities, Guidance, Manufacturers

Maybe it is just us, but we wanted to know whether we would get a different experience at 340B University versus the 340B Coalition Conference. In some ways, these conferences could not have been more different. But, at the heart of it all, each had the same underlying education of stakeholders so that covered entities … Continue Reading

Top Takeaway from 340B University and 340B Coalition Conference

By Alyce Katayama and Elizabeth Gebarski on February 29, 2016 Posted in Compliance, Contract Pharmacies, Covered Entities, Guidance, Manufacturers

This year we once again had boots on the ground for 340B University and the 340B Winter Coalition Conference for a four-day 340B Drug Pricing Program (340B Program) adventure. 340B University is free of charge and is put on by the 340B Prime Vendor, Apexus. The 340B Coalition Conference, on the other hand, charges a fee … Continue Reading

PhRMA 2-0 in The Orphan Drug Wars

By Alyce Katayama and Elizabeth Gebarski on October 19, 2015 Posted in Compliance, Covered Entities, Guidance, Manufacturers, Orphan Drugs

U.S. Federal District Court Judge for the District of Columbia, Rudolph Contreras, ruled Wednesday, October 14, 2015 that manufacturers need not offer 340B discounts for orphan drugs sold to a specified group of covered entities (CEs), regardless of how the orphan drug is used. To make a very long story short, in 2010, the Patient Protection … Continue Reading

Breaking Down the Proposed Omnibus Guidance – Child Sites

By Alyce Katayama and Elizabeth Gebarski on October 12, 2015 Posted in Certification/Recertification, Compliance, Contract Pharmacies, Covered Entities, Guidance

It is coming down to the wire – comments are due on the 340B Drug Pricing Program Omnibus Guidance (“Guidance”) in about two weeks! On October 28, 2015 the comment period will be closed and there will be nothing left to do but sit back and wait. This post will focus on an aspect of … Continue Reading

Breaking Down the Proposed Omnibus Guidance – Covered Entity Eligibility, Registration & Termination

By Alyce Katayama and Elizabeth Gebarski on September 17, 2015 Posted in Certification/Recertification, Compliance, Covered Entities, Guidance

As promised, the blog will be taking an in-depth look at discrete topics included in the proposed 340B Drug Pricing Program Omnibus Guidance (“Guidance”), which was published August 28, 2015. The proposed Guidance touches on almost every aspect of the 340B Program, including covered entity (“CE”) eligibility; the patient definition; Group Purchasing Organization prohibitions; contract … Continue Reading