Chief Operating Officer of Interoperability Institute

Dissertation Title

The 340B Drug Pricing Program: Are 340B Covered Entities Providing More Services and More Uncompensated Care?

Dissertation Abstract

The 340B Drug Pricing Program enacted in 1992 requires pharmaceutical manufacturers participating in the Medicaid program to provide statutorily defined discounts on "covered outpatient drugs" purchased by government-supported facilities, known as covered entities, that are expected to serve the nation's most vulnerable patient populations. The Program has been under copious scrutiny by industry stakeholders and Presidential Executive Orders that threaten its macrocosm. While previous research suggests that health systems with a mix of 340B participating and non-participating locations are not associated with expanded access to care, additional research is needed to determine if entities participating in the 340B Drug Pricing Program are more likely to provide more services and uncompensated care than those not participating in the Program

This study provides a conceptual framework and application of resource-based theory to provide research that will inform industry stakeholders by comparing the ability of adult general acute care hospitals to provide more services and uncompensated care for those participating in the 340B Program versus those not participating. The results of this study provide evidence to support that adult acute care hospitals participating in the 340B Program lend credence to the purpose of the Program. Resource-based theory informs this study with evidence that the 340B Program is valuable, rare, difficult to imitate, and non-substitutable.