VIEWPOINT | Hospitals profiting from federal drug program at seniors' expense

Guest column by Don Haggar, Americans for Prosperity

Hospital systems across the country – and right here in South Dakota – are using a little-known federal program as a cash cow to rake in unprecedented profits.

In 1992 Congress created the 340B program to allow certain safety-net hospitals and clinics to purchase medications at a discount from manufacturers and resell them at a mark-up to stretch scarce federal resources and care for low-income patients. However, due to vague language within the statute – and little oversight - many hospitals are pocketing those profits instead of using them to lower costs for patients.

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