Gilead Sciences furthers its assault on safety-net healthcare providers by expanding its 340B contract pharmacy restrictions to include clinics that serve the poor with in-house pharmacies. AIDS Healthcare Foundation condemns the maneuver driven entirely by Gilead’s greed. The drug maker will increase profits by limiting access to branded hepatitis C medications available at legally mandated 340B prices. Wrapping itself in the flag of transparency, Gilead aims to reduce the number of prescriptions it must sell at the 340B discount price to access the lucrative, taxpayer-subsidized Medicaid prescription drug market.
Gilead asserts its expanded data reporting requirements will improve transparency in the 340B program. Rather, Gilead’s faux program integrity concerns cover up its real motive – increasing profits no matter the consequences. The most recent Gilead earnings release shows sales of the drug giant’s hepatitis C medicines fell in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the same interval a year earlier. Instead of looking for avenues to increase sales, Gilead wants to bury nonprofits in paperwork to reduce the number of prescriptions available at 340B prices. In the end, Gilead finds it easier to expand the administrative burden of healthcare providers dedicated to serving the most vulnerable Americans than expand its business the old-fashioned way.
