Given its name, you'd expect the federal 340B Drug Discount Program to save money for the American health system. When it comes to cancer, though, it's actually a major driver increasing costs, according to a report from the Community Oncology Alliance.
The program was created in 1992 to financially support so-called safety net hospitals that provide charity care to poor and underserved patients. It was designed to deliver that support not through already scarce federal resources but through mandatory manufacturer discounts on outpatient drugs. The intent of the program was to help these providers increase the charity care they provide with the money they saved from the program.
