Health care advocates in Springfield are working to pass legislation to secure low-income Illinoisans access to medications through a federal drug discount program. The aim is to protect against growing restrictions placed by drug companies.
Cyrus Winnett, chief public affairs officer for the Illinois Primary Healthcare Association, a trade association representing the state’s community health centers, says drug manufacturers have been increasingly placing restrictions on the ability of health centers to acquire and distribute drugs to patients.
“They [drug manufacturers] are limiting the distribution of these drugs to one single, physical pharmacy location and saying that’s the only place we’re going to ship these drugs,” said Winnett.
Winnett said the restrictions layered on top of potential federal changes to Medicare are creating a “nightmare storm” for health care in the state, threatening the funding needed to keep community health centers open and avoid layoffs.
For over 30 years, the 340B program has been providing medical care and prescriptions to low-income individuals and Medicare recipients across the nation, regardless of whether they have insurance coverage.
The program works with pharmaceutical manufacturers to sell drugs at a steeply discounted rate to certain covered entities, including community health centers, hospitals that primarily serve low-income populations, Ryan White Clinics (specializing in treating HIV/AIDS patients) and other federally funded medical centers.
In return for providing reduced pricing on medications, these drug manufacturers are reimbursed for most of the discounts through Medicare and Medicaid programs. Also, because 340B clinics and organizations are required by law to operate as nonprofits, the savings generated by 340B participants are then reinvested into expanding access to health care services, improving patient care and funding other community health initiatives.
Health facilities that benefit from the 340B program have been facing increasing compliance issues with pharmaceutical companies, which since 2020 have been placing restrictions on how or where the price-reduced medications may be distributed.
To combat these issues, a pair of bills at the Illinois General Assembly have been introduced with bipartisan support. The measures would restrict anyone, especially pharmaceutical manufacturers, from interfering with how a 340B organization operates and distributes covered medications. These bills also protect 340B organizations against unnecessary data or inventory management demands not required by law.
Democratic state representative Anna Moeller is the primary sponsor of House Bill 3350 and has a personal interest in what this bill protects due to the presence of multiple federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and community health centers located within her Elgin district.
“It’s [340B bills] an important part of their ability to provide health care to people who have no insurance or are underinsured,” said Moeller. “We want to make sure that we’re supporting our local health facilities that are providing care to those who most need it. Right now, I’m working with Senator Koehler, who is the sponsor in the Senate, along with both the proponents and opponents so that we can get something passed. We’re working it day by day and doing the best we can to get it over the finish line.”
As of March 20, one of the bills, House Bill 3350, is being studied to determine how much it would cost. In a fiscal note attached to the bill on the Illinois General Assembly website, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulations is estimating this will cost about $1 million to implement.
Winnett believes that without changes, the problem of unilateral restrictions by drug companies will not go away on their own and in fact grow worse. He says the best way for people to get involved in this issue is to get in touch with their local representative and talk to them about their support for affordable access to medications.
“We simply cannot allow these restrictions to continue. It is severely impacting our patients and our providers, and enough is enough,” said Winnett.
This article appears in Mar 27 – Apr 2, 2025.
