Patient Affordability and Debt Collection Policies at 340B Program Hospitals

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Section 340B of the Public Health Service Act requires that pharmaceutical manufacturers give discounts on specified outpatient drugs to certain covered entities, including hospitals and clinics, who treat low-income or otherwise underserved patients. In theory, when hospitals pay less for covered drugs, they may pass those price reductions onto patients who might otherwise not be able to afford treatment at full price. But there are few measures built into the program to assure that 340B program funds are being used to support care for low-income populations. One method to gain insight into the type of financial support provided for low-income patients is to examine financial assistance aimed at low-income patients and related debt collection policies at hospitals participating in the 340B program.

This dataset details elements of 340B hospital patient financial assistance policies (FAP) and related debt collection policies at 75 United States 340B hospitals that generated the most revenue based on hospital fiscal data available through July 2021.  A major stated goal of the 340B program is to allow hospitals that serve low-income patients to expand services to those patients. 

This dataset focuses on FAPs and related debt collection policies as of October 1, 2021.   

Funding for this project was provided by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).