Study: 340B tax-exempt hospitals provide $56.1B in community benefits

Tax-exempt hospitals in the 340B drug savings program provided $56.1 billion in total benefits to their communities in 2016, the most recent year for which data is available, according to an analysis released today by the AHA. “Hospitals and health systems of all kinds and sizes are hard at work delivering a wide variety of benefits tailored to meet the needs of their diverse communities,” said AHA Executive Vice President Tom Nickels. “This report demonstrates once again the significant value that the 340B drug savings program allows eligible hospitals to provide for their communities through a range of important programs and services, many of which would otherwise be unavailable.” Funded by drug company discounts, not federal dollars, the 340B program was created by Congress more than 25 years ago “to stretch scarce federal resources as far as possible, reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive services.”