A recent United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruling allows the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to propose a remedy for hospital 340B drug underpayments for calendar years 2018 to 2021. This is the latest 340B decision following the late September ruling where the District Court ruled to vacate the 340B payment cuts for the remainder of 2022 and ordered the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to halt the cuts immediately. Hospitals are required to submit adjustments for each 2022 claim paid at the lower rate. However, that prior ruling failed to address claims from 2018 through 2021, with the CMS indicating these years would be addressed in future rulemaking prior to release of the 2024 outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) final rule. The 2023 OPPS final rule restored 340B payments to the average sales price (ASP) plus 6%, up from ASP minus 22.5%.
The HHS has indicated a proposed remedy is expected to be released by April. The MHA, along with the American Hospital Association and others, continues to advocate for a remedy that quickly restores payments to hospitals for 2018 through 2021, with interest, and which does not penalize any hospitals.
Members with questions should contact Katie Jaskolski at the MHA.