Yellowhammer Times

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) addressed the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee about the role of the 340B drug pricing program in supporting Alabama hospitals. During the hearing, Tuberville highlighted that many hospitals in his state rely on these discounts to continue operations and provide care for uninsured patients.

Tuberville stated, "The 340[B] Program is [one of] the only—and I repeat only—source of income for America’s hospitals that isn’t taxpayer funded. Taxpayers are carrying the whole load other than this here. We should be expanding this, not reforming it." He referenced East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika, which he said provided nearly $100 million in uninsured care in 2025 and received $70 million from 340B savings during that period.

He expressed concern that 83% of rural hospitals in Alabama operate at a loss and warned against reforms that could reduce support for these facilities: "You can’t go towards people that are losing money already. Not towards states like mine that rely on 340B discounts for survival."

Michelle Rosenberg, Director of Health Care at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, responded to Tuberville's questions by noting, "The statute doesn’t specify what the purpose of the program is...it would seem that if [the intent is to stretch scarce federal resources], then the 340B program is allowing entities to do that." She also indicated she was not aware of other non-taxpayer-funded discount programs available to at-risk hospitals.

Rosenberg added, "Our recommendations really focuses on HRSA’s oversight of the program...making sure that they follow program requirements," emphasizing proper eligibility and preventing duplicate discounts as key elements.

Dr. Aditi Sen from the Congressional Budget Office discussed data limitations: "For our work, better data on how covered entities are using 340B revenues could inform that policy discussion." When asked about fraudulent use of funds, she stated there was insufficient data to track specific uses within covered entities.

Dr. William Feldman from UCLA said he had not seen any fraudulent use of the program.

Senator Tuberville concluded by stressing the importance of maintaining support for rural and financially struggling hospitals through programs like 340B.