Community Access National Network Responds to Introduction of the SUSTAIN 340B Act
Today, Jen Laws, President & CEO of Community Access National Network (CANN) and Kalvin Pugh, CANN’s 340B Policy Director, released the following statement in response to the introduction of the SUSTAIN 340B Act:
“The 340B program, initially designed to help vulnerable communities, families and individuals access lifesaving health care, has the potential to fulfill its intended purpose. However, today’s release of the long-awaited SUSTAIN Act reveals that lawmakers’ focus remains on entities that have exploited this program to enhance their profit margins, rather than on the patients who should be able to rely on it,” said Pugh.
Laws explains CANN’s patient-driven concerns as follows: “SUSTAIN’s introduction marks the capstone of a busy season of federal 340B activity, following HRSA’s revised Rebate Model Pilot Program and the Ways and Means Committee’s approval of the Tax Exempt Hospital Transparency Act. CANN looks forward to robust discussion of the issues raised across these proposals. That said, SUSTAIN makes the same mistake as its predecessors: treating covered entity and manufacturer interests as the primary conflict to be resolved, with patient interest folded in as an assumed byproduct rather than centered on its own terms. We’ve said it before and SUSTAIN proves it again – if patients aren’t at the table, they’re on the menu.”
