Polsinelli Podcasts - Confusion to Clarity on the Future of the 340B Program
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act ("OBBB") expands exemptions for orphan drugs from mandatory Medicare price negotiations and modifies their eligibility timeline....more
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, his signature policy legislation. Two aspects of this legislation are particularly relevant for drug pricing....more
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law in August 2022 with the goal of curbing inflation by, among other things, lowering prescription drug prices. Notable prescription drug provisions of the IRA include the...more
On 3 March 2020, the Spanish Council of Ministers, based on Article 3(3) of the Spanish Regulation on Medicinal Products (RDL 1/2015), agreed on a new economic regime for orphan medicinal products. ...more
The 340B Drug Pricing Program has been a hot topic in Congress lately. It seems like new legislation and/or Congressional hearings related to the 340B Program pop up almost daily. ...more
On April 26, 2018, the China Drug Administration (CDA) released a draft guideline of implementing rules on pharmaceutical data exclusivity for public comments. The draft guideline expands the scope of data protection from...more
I previously said that the year 2014 may be a game-changer for the 340B Drug Discount Program. Increasing HRSA audits, a lawsuit over the 340B Orphan Drug Rule, and HRSA’s promise to issue a 340B mega-regulation, all pointed...more
On July 18, 2017, just days after CMS went public with its proposal to reduce Medicare Part B reimbursement to certain 340B covered entities, Congress held its first hearing on 340B Program Oversight since March 2015. A...more
A recent House bill, titled the "Closing Loopholes for Orphan Drugs Act," would narrow the exception for orphan drugs in the federal 340B Drug Pricing program. Representative Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced the bill on June 13,...more
Big Pharma’s skyrocketing prices are finally in for some real scrutiny by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), as well as new initiatives in the Maryland and New York statehouses....more
Our recent post on HRSA’s Omnibus Proposed Guidance for the 340B Drug Discount Program (Proposed Guidance) noted that since the DC District Court had yet to rule on the validity of HRSA’s “interpretive” 340B orphan drug rule,...more
A federal court vacated the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Orphan Drug Rule that had allowed certain 340B Drug Pricing Program (340B Program) hospital covered entities to receive discounted prices when...more
On October 14, 2015, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia struck down an interpretive rule from HHS that limited the prices pharmaceutical manufacturers could charge for orphan drugs sold to certain...more
On Friday, August 28, 2015, the Health Resources and Services Administration (“HRSA” or “the Agency”) published in the Federal Register Notice of its proposed “omnibus” or “mega” guidance (“Proposed Guidance”) regarding...more
On June 16, 2015, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (“HRSA”) released proposed rules on civil monetary penalties and drug ceiling prices under the...more
The 340B Federal Drug Pricing Program (the 340B Program) requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to offer drugs at discounted prices to eligible hospitals, clinics and other entities for use in the outpatient setting. The 340B...more