What is 340B?
Congress created the 340B program in 1992 to help vulnerable or uninsured patients access prescription medicines. The program allows critical access hospitals, including Cascade Medical, to access prescription medicines from manufacturers at reduced prices. This federally-funded program is administered by the Office of Pharmacy Affairs.
Cascade Medical and 340B
Since mid-2018, Cascade Medical has worked with Leavenworth Safeway Pharmacy and a third-party administrator to participate in the 340B program. There are no additional procedures that patients follow – they fill their prescriptions as usual, their Medicare or commercial insurance plan pays the same amount they normally would.
Reduced prices allowed Cascade Medical to save $30,000 in 2018. After processing fees paid to Safeway and the administrator, Cascade Medical expects to save $160,000 in 2019.
Cascade Medical uses its 340B cost savings to purchase and maintain equipment needed for patient care, treatment, diagnostics, safety or facility needs.
How is Cascade Medical’s program overseen?
Cascade Medical performs internal audits and other oversight activities to ensure compliance with the 340B program. We also check that Safeway, the pharmaceutical supplier and the third-party administrator apply the 340B program only for eligible patients with prescriptions written by a Cascade Medical provider. These and other checks performed by the administrator ensure we are compliant with federal requirements.