Today, Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) released a report on his years-long investigation into the practices and policies of 340B stakeholders. Included in his report are two community health centers, Sun River Health and Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic. The report includes a summary of both organizations’ 340B programs and clearly details the extensive efforts both organizations support for their patients and communities.

Advocates for Community Health (ACH) is pleased to see that Senator Cassidy’s investigation reveals that community health centers are using the 340B program as it was intended. However, while ACH strongly agrees with some of his recommendations, including increased transparency and clarity in the program’s operations, it is clear that more advocacy is needed to protect community health center patients and continued access to care. The 340B program was designed by Congress to support safety net organizations in their efforts to ensure affordable, comprehensive primary care for all of their patients.

We look forward to working with Senator Cassidy and his team to improve and reform the 340B program, while keeping the intent and value of the program intact for FQHCs. It is vital that any effort to reform 340B focuses on policy changes that recognize the intent and value of the program as a resource for entities like health centers to serve their communities.

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