Capitol News Outlets Cover 340B Legislation

MHA CEO Brian Peters

The MHA received media coverage the week of Dec. 9 on Senate Bill 1179, which would protect access to affordable prescription drugs and healthcare services through the 340B Prescription Drug Pricing Program. The bill was reported out of the Senate Oversight Committee Dec. 11 and passed the full Senate Dec. 13.

Lansing political outlets MIRS and Gongwer both published stories Dec. 11 that included portions of a media statement issued by the MHA after SB 1179 moved out of committee. Additional stories were published by MIRS Dec. 12, Gongwer Dec. 13 and 340B Report Dec. 13 following the passage of SB 1179 by the full Senate.

“Michigan’s senators stood up to the out-of-state pharmaceutical interest groups and we applaud them for their efforts,” said Peters. “We now call on the Michigan House of Representatives to follow the Senate’s lead and get this bill over the finish line. Michiganders can’t afford to continue to have their healthcare services attacked to pad PhRMA balance sheets.

Outside of this week’s activity on 340B, the Becker’s Healthcare Podcast published an episode Dec. 12 with Peters that was recorded at the Becker’s Healthcare 12th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable. Peters discusses the evolving challenges and opportunities in healthcare, including cybersecurity, the role of AI, workforce issues and the importance of community partnerships to address health equity.

Members with any questions regarding media requests should contact John Karasinski at the MHA.

Senate Protects Healthcare Services from PhRMA Attacks

The following statement can be attributed to Brian Peters, CEO of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association.

MHA CEO Brian PetersWe are grateful for the broad bipartisan collection of senators who passed Senate Bill 1179 to protect community healthcare services from pharmaceutical manufacturers’ arbitrary attacks on the 340B drug pricing program.

Safety net providers, from Federally Qualified Health Centers to cancer and rural hospitals, and the services they offer to vulnerable patients are under threat from drug manufacturers prioritizing their own profits over healthcare access.

Michigan’s senators stood up to the out-of-state pharmaceutical interest groups and we applaud them for their efforts.
We now call on the Michigan House of Representatives to follow the Senate’s lead and get this bill over the finish line. Michiganders can’t afford to continue to have their healthcare services attacked to pad PhRMA balance sheets.

Senate Committee Puts Patients Over PhRMA Profits

The following statement can be attributed to Brian Peters, CEO of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association.
MHA CEO Brian Peters

Members of the Senate Oversight Committee put patients over pharmaceutical profits by reporting out Senate Bill 1179 to the full Senate, which adds state-level protections to the 340B drug pricing program and the affordable, community-based care it supports.

The 340B program is an essential safety net program that supports vulnerable patients and the providers that care for them. It allows eligible Michigan hospitals to stretch incredibly scarce resources to provide care for more patients in their communities, increasing access to care.

These protections prevent manufacturers from arbitrarily restricting program participation that threatens access to care by cutting program savings. Such harmful actions by these companies risk the closure of birthing units, nursing homes and even critical access hospitals.

We look forward to the full Senate passing this bill and will continue to work with our partners in the House to make sure this important piece of legislation reaches Gov. Whitmer’s desk before the end of the year.