The Institute joins coalition advocating for 340B pharmacy program

posted by

Sophia Guida

The Institute joins coalition advocating for 340B pharmacy program

November 25, 2020

As a federally qualified health center, we know the importance of providing high-quality care to patients, especially to the most vulnerable. Part of high-quality care includes making sure patients have easy access to affordable medications – even if they don’t have insurance.

The 340B program is a prescription drug discount program funded by the US federal government. It allows patients to access prescription medication at significantly reduced costs. For patients who struggle to afford the medication they need to manage their health, the 340B program is a lifeline. The program also provides funding to participating organizations like ours, which we use to improve and expand our services. This is why 340B is essential to the mission of the Institute.

New York State is currently planning on removing the 340B program from managed care, which means that community health centers like ours will no longer receive these 340B funds. This will limit our ability to expand medication access to patients without insurance and sustain our community outreach and social support programs. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve worked hard to make sure our patients had access to the preventive health care they needed, including life-saving medications like those offered through 340B. Now more than ever, we need to ensure that New York’s most vulnerable residents have all of the health support they need.

The proposed changes to 340B will limit access to health care for the most vulnerable in our community, at a time when many are under severe financial strain from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Institute has joined a statewide coalition, Save NY’s Safety Net, which is advocating to preserve the 340B program. Please help us save the 340B program by contacting your legislator and visiting savenysafetynet.com.

You can also read these recent news articles to learn more about this campaign: