It’s time for our annual look at the booming pharmacy component of the 340B Drug Pricing Program. Our latest, exclusive analysis finds that:
- About 25,000 pharmacy locations now act as contract pharmacies for the hospitals and other healthcare providers that participate in the 340B program. Contract pharmacies now account for almost 40% of all pharmacy locations in the United States. Wow.
- The total number of pharmacy locations has grown by 14% over the past 12 months and has almost doubled since 2013.
- Six large retail chains—Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, Rite Aid, Kroger, and Albertsons—account for two-thirds of 340B contract pharmacy locations. CVS added 1,200 locations—as many as the other five chains combined.
Clearly, multi-billion-dollar, for-profit, publicly traded pharmacy chains are benefiting from the 340B discounts intended for covered entities. Below, I offer some policy suggestions so that we can better understand what's going on here.
In upcoming articles, I’ll examine pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) and specialty pharmacy participation in 340B and explain the oversize profits that pharmacies can earn from the program.
For now, you should ponder how and why the 340B program continues its unbridled takeover of the pharmacy industry…and beyond.
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