SNAP has asked members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation to co-sponsor and support bills (H.R. 3203 and S. 773) that would temporarily enable Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals and others already eligible for the 340B prescription drug discount program to remain eligible for the program despite short-term changes in their admissions patterns brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because of the manner in which the COVID-19 pandemic affected hospital admissions, some hospitals that have been eligible to participate in the 340B program could lose that eligibility for what is, in effect, a one-year anomaly.  The proposed bills would temporarily enable current 340B participants to retain their eligibility for the program until hospitals’ inpatient volume returns to normal and they can demonstrate whether they still meet the criteria to continue participating in the program.

340B has long been a vital tool through which Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals receive significant discounts on the prescription drugs their low-income patients need, enabling these hospitals and other eligible providers to stretch scarce resources in services to the communities that depend on them.

Learn more from SNAP’s letter to members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation.