Resources

Client Alerts, News Articles, Blog Posts, & Multimedia

Everything you need to know about BMD and the industry.

Ensuring Fair Access: SB 269 Protects Affordable Medication for Low-Income Patients

Client Alert
May 29, 2024

Senate Bill 269 (SB 269), introduced on May 14, 2024, will ensure that 340B covered entities, including Federally Qualified Health Centers, Ryan White Clinics, disproportionate share hospitals, and Title X clinics, can acquire 340B drugs without facing undue restrictions or discriminatory practices from drug manufacturers and distributors. This protection is crucial for 340B covered entities to continue to provide affordable medications and comprehensive services to low-income patients.

What is the Federal 340B Drug Pricing Program?
Under the 340B Program, Federal law permits covered entities to buy outpatient prescription drugs from drug manufacturers at a discount. In exchange for committing to serve historically marginalized and underserved patients, payors reimburse covered entities at retail rates, allowing the covered entity to realize a savings. Covered entities reinvest that savings into their services and programs; the savings covered entities achieve through the 340B Program helps them stretch scarce federal resources. Without the 340B Program, covered entities will not be able to provide care to vulnerable populations.

What Does SB 269 Do?
Prohibits Restrictive Practices: SB 269 prohibits drug manufacturers, re-packagers, third-party logistics providers, and wholesale distributors (and their agents or affiliates) from denying, prohibiting, restricting, discriminating against, or otherwise limiting the acquisition or delivery of 340B drugs to covered entities, unless required by Federal law. The law would prohibit drug manufacturers and others from limiting covered entities’ use of contract pharmacies, a practice that interferes with the ability of patients who rely on covered entities to access needed health care services and affordable prescription drugs. Under the bill, these parties also cannot require 340B covered entities to submit claims or utilization data as a condition for acquiring or delivering 340B drugs, unless such data sharing is mandated by Federal law.

Enforcement and Penalties: Under the bill, violations of these provisions may result in a civil penalty of $50,000 per violation, as well as referral to the Ohio Board of Pharmacy for further action.

Please contact BMD Healthcare Member Daphne Kackloudis at dlkackloudis@bmdllc.com or Attorney Jordan Burdick at jaburdick@bmdllc.com with any questions about SB 269 or the 340B drug pricing program, or to weigh in with your lawmaker about the bill.

340BDrug Discount ProgramHealthcareHealth LawDaphne Kackloudisjordan burdick
Client Alert

Ohio Department of Health Releases Updated Charge Limits for Medical Records

March 7, 2022Under Ohio law, a healthcare provider or medical records company that receives a request for a copy of a patient's medical record may charge an amount in accordance with the limits set forth in Ohio Revised Code Section 3701.741. The allowable amounts are increased or decreased annually by the average percentage of increase or decrease in the consumer price index for all urban consumers, prepared by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the immediately preceding calendar year over the calendar year immediately preceding that year, as reported by the Bureau. The Director of the Ohio Department of Health makes this determination and adjusts the amounts accordingly. The list is then published, here.Client Alert

No Surprises Act Compliance (Published by NAMAS, 2/25/22)

March 7, 2022The Department of Health and Human Services published three parts to the No Surprises Act towards the end of 2021, which took effect January 1, 2022. The Act is intended to protect consumers from “balance billing,” which occurs when a patient receives a bill with a higher price than they may have anticipated because they did not have knowledge that the provider or facility was out-of-network. The purpose of this article is to note certain requirements that compliance employees will need to be aware of at their facilities, including notice and consent, good faith estimates, and public disclosures.Client Alert

No Surprises Act and You (Published in the SCMS Winter 2022 Newsletter)

March 3, 2022Legislation has been adopted by the United States Congress and the Ohio Legislature known as the “No Surprises Act” which attempts to regulate billing by professionals and facilities to patients who are not in networks with those facilities or providers at those facilities. The federal bill was triggered by some sensational news stories of patients being billed for tens of thousands of dollars for emergency care when the hospital was out of the network under the patient’s insurance plans.Client Alert

Are You Impacted by the Project Labor Agreement Executive Order?

February 28, 2022Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) are a quasi-collective bargaining agreement between employers and unions. They establish the terms and conditions of employment, including dispute resolution. They are put into place on specific projects and apply to the contractor, whether it is union or non-union. Employees hired on the project will be treated as union.Client Alert

No Surprises Act Update: Federal Judge Strikes Portions of the No Surprises Act

February 25, 2022In a win for providers, a Texas federal court granted the Texas Medical Association’s (TMA) motion for summary judgment and struck down portions of a federal rule that establishes a reimbursement rate arbitration process between payors and providers under the No Surprises Act (NSA).
Older posts
Newer posts