Michael French Shares Perspective in 340B Report Article About Response by Providers to 340B Drug Pricing Restrictions
Quarles & Brady attorney Michael French, a Chicago-based member of the Health & Life Sciences Practice Group, was quoted in a 340B Report article about the various steps health care providers are taking to address restrictions from manufacturers associated with the 340B drug pricing program.
Over the past three years, more than 25 drug makers have taken steps to restrict access to 340B pricing if contract pharmacies are involved. French explained that some providers are dealing with this challenge initially ordering the drugs through a covered entity pharmacy, then transferring them to a contract pharmacy for dispensing.
An excerpt from the article:
Hospitals, especially, have increasingly looked at such “alternative distribution models,” said Michael French, an attorney at Quarles, as they have the resources to obtain wholesale licensure and on-site pharmacies.
“That’s primarily driven by the fact that these manufacturer restrictions continue to remain in place and continue to become more and more restrictive,” French said
Quarles wrote that such arrangements carry varying levels of risk based on where the provider and pharmacy are located and the type of licensure held by the covered entity.
“The fact that more and more covered entities are doing it, third party administrators at this stage are pro-actively contacting their clients about this potential opportunity, seems to indicate to me that some covered entities are having success with this,” French said.