Yellowhammer Times

There are 40 Alabama hospitals participating in the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program.

This program is a federal initiative that enables eligible hospitals and healthcare organizations to purchase outpatient medications at significantly discounted prices.

Established in 1992, the program aims to provide financial relief to healthcare providers serving vulnerable populations, allowing them to stretch their scarce resources and reach more eligible patients.

Hospitals participating in the 340B program can use the savings to fund essential services and programs, such as free or low-cost medication assistance, expanded access to healthcare, and community outreach initiatives.

Participating hospitals, however, "often extend their 340B discounts to clinics in well-off communities, where they can charge privately insured patients more than those on Medicaid,” reported the Wall Street Journal.

"In some cases, the program appears to be bolstering profits in well-off areas more than it is underwriting services in less-privileged neighborhoods,” said the Journal article.

U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) introduced a bill in 2023 that he said would ensure "that organizations are transparent about how they use resources from” the 340B program.

"The 340B Drug Pricing Program is supposed to help low-income and uninsured Americans afford their medicine, but some are taking advantage of the program at the expense of vulnerable patients,” said Kennedy.

Hospital	City
Athens-Limestone	Athens
Atrium Health Floyd Cherokee Medical Center	Centre
Baptist Medical Center East	Montgomery
Baptist Medical Center South	Montgomery
Bibb Medical Center	Centreville
Choctaw General Hospital	Butler
Coosa Valley Medical Center	Sylacauga
Dale Medical Center	Ozark
DCH Regional Medical Center	Tuscaloosa
DW McMillan Memorial Hospital	Brewton
East Alabama Medical Center	Opelika
Greene County Hospital	Eutaw
Grove Hill Memorial Hospital	Grove Hill
Gulf Health Hospitals	Bay Minette
Hale County Hospital	Greensboro
Helen Keller Hospital	Sheffield
HH Health System - Marshall	Boaz
Highlands Medical Center	Scottsboro
Huntsville Hospital	Huntsville
Jackson Hospital and Clinic	Montgomery
John Paul Jones Hospital	Camden
Mobile Infirmary Medical Center	Mobile
Monroe County Hospital	Monroeville
Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center	Anniston
Red Bay Hospital	Red Bay
Regional Medical Center of Central Alabama	Greenville
Russell Medical Center	Alexander City
Russellville Hospital	Russellville
Southeast Health Medical Center	Dothan
St. Vincent's Blount	Oneonta
Tanner Medical Center Alabama	Wedowee
The Children's Hospital of Alabama	Birmingham
The Health Care Authority of The City of Eufaula	Eufaula
The Troy Hospital Health Care Authority	Troy
University of Alabama Hospital	Birmingham
USA Health Children's and Women's Hospital	Mobile
USA Health University Hospital	Mobile
Washington County Hospital	Chatom
Whitfield Regional Hospital	Demopolis
Wiregrass Medical Center	Geneva