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To amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to include rural emergency hospitals in the definition of a covered entity for purposes of the 340B drug discount program.
Summary
This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to expand the 340B drug discount program to include certain rural emergency hospitals. Rural emergency hospitals that are government-owned, operate as non-profits with governmental authority, or are private non-profits under contract with state or local governments to serve low-income individuals would become eligible for the 340B program. The 340B program allows certain health care organizations to purchase medications at discounted prices from manufacturers. This expansion would allow qualifying rural emergency hospitals to access pharmaceutical discounts currently available to other covered entities like federally qualified health centers and disproportionate-share hospitals.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Rep. Bergman, Jack [R-MI-1] (R-MI)
6 cosponsors
Actions (2)
- Jan 3, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. · house
- Jan 3, 2025 Introduced in House
More bills on these subjects (8)
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Text versions (1)
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Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 3, 2025
Mr. Bergman (for himself and Mrs. Dingell) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to include rural emergency hospitals in the definition of a covered entity for purposes of the 340B drug discount program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Rural 340B Access Act of 2025”.
SEC. 2. INCLUDING RURAL EMERGENCY HOSPITALS AS COVERED ENTITIES FOR PURPOSES OF THE 340B DRUG DISCOUNT PROGRAM.
Section 340B(a)(4) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 256b(a)(4)) is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
“(P) An entity that is a rural emergency hospital (as defined in section 1861(kkk)(2) of the Social Security Act) that is owned or operated by a unit of State or local government, is a public or private non- profit corporation which is formally granted governmental powers by a unit of State or local government, or is a private non-profit rural emergency hospital which has a contract with a State or local government to provide health care services to low income individuals who are not entitled to benefits under title XVIII of the Social Security Act or eligible for assistance under the State plan under this title.”. <all>
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