Missouri bill aims to boost access to discounted drugs
By Jenna Wilson
A new law is set to allow Missourians access to essential medications within their communities through the federal 340B program.
Beginning Aug. 28. Senate Bill 751 lets any pharmacy that has a contract with the 340B entity, including Northwest Health Services and Mosaic in the area, fill any medication eligible under the program.
“The 340B program has been around for some time but this new law will help with expanding it,” said Kody Hickman, a licensed pharmacist at Roger’s Pharmacy. “Right now, only certain pharmacies can fill certain manufacturers such as Hy-Vee, Price Chopper and even at our pharmacy, so this will help with more medications being fulfilled in areas where people live, not having to fill a couple of medications at one pharmacy then a couple of medications at another out of the way.”
The 340B Drug Pricing Program can help enrolled entities save 25% to 50% on medication. In addition, it also requires drug makers participating in Medicaid to sell outpatient medicines at discounted prices to health care organizations that care for uninsured and low-income patients.
“It takes the prices down from thousands of dollars to something that’s a lot more affordable for patients to get, especially for Medicare patients,” Hickman said. “Those are probably the people that are affected the most because the Medicare plans they have don’t necessarily have good prescription drug coverage.”
While supporters celebrate the bill as a victory for health care access, critics raise concerns about its long-term implications for pharmaceutical regulation.
Gov. Mike Parson, (R) Missouri, opted out of taking action on SB 751, aimed at blocking drug manufacturers from restricting which pharmacies can participate in a federal drug price discount program, which means the bill will become law by default.
In a letter to the Secretary of State, Parson explained his decision was because he didn’t believe the bill contained enough requirements to ensure cost savings actually reached patients.
However, the bill has received strong bipartisan support in the Missouri Senate and House and from several pharmacies.
Experts are hopeful the law will see success, but it could come with pushback from Big Pharma companies.
“One thing is that manufacturers of drugs can fight this,” Hickman said. “So, it may also not be smooth sailing and go straight into effect because the drug companies can say, ‘No, we don’t want that.’ But this law gives pharmacies some ground to stand on or 340B entities to fight that as well.”
