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Opinion: 340B is a well-intentioned drug discount program gone awry

There’s mounting evidence a federal drug discount program has been exploited for profit under the guise of “doing good.”
A patient receives assistance at a rural community hospital.

Hospitals and clinics serving high-risk, high-need patient populations, including low-income and uninsured individuals, have long benefitted from a federal program that allows them to buy medicines from drug makers at a steep discount.

But as a debate over drug pricing rages in Congress, there’s mounting evidence the 340B program has been exploited for profit under the guise of “doing good.”

The program, enacted with bipartisan support in 1992, has noble intentions. Estimates suggest the program saved participating entities up to on drug acquisition costs in 2015. a critical buffer to the cost of taking

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