Two bills related to the federal 340B drug-pricing program drew competing testimony at the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing: hospital and health-system witnesses urged protections to preserve the 340B program's benefits for safety-net providers, while industry and research witnesses asked for reporting and transparency to measure program impacts.

David Twitchell of Boston Medical Center Health System described 340B as a critical revenue source for safety-net systems: "In 2024, from MassHealth alone, our 340B benefit was nearly $70,000,000. Without it, we'd have a new $70,000,000 hole in our budget that we cannot tolerate," he said. BMC and other providers asked the committee to limit changes that would shift discounts away from safety-net providers and to preserve protections for hospital-affiliated pharmacies and programs that serve low-income patients.

Conversely, Kelly Ryan (pharma trade) and Robert Popovian (Pioneer Institute) supported S848, a transparency bill that would allow state agencies to study covered-entity 340B revenue and how those funds are used. Ryan cited Minnesota's review showing payments to third-party administrators and contract pharmacies can frequently consume a significant share of gross 340B revenue; Popovian said reporting is a prerequisite for data-driven policy decisions and noted growth and contract-pharmacy arrangements concentrated in affluent areas.

Why it matters: The 340B program is intended to support safety-net providers by enabling drug discounts; witnesses disagreed about whether program growth and contract-pharmacy practices are diverting benefits away from the intended providers.

Next steps: Advocates for transparency encouraged the committee to require reporting before additional legislative change; safety-net hospitals asked the committee to avoid statutory changes that would reduce their current 340B benefits without transition protections.

Ending: The committee heard data claims and counterclaims; no action was taken. Witnesses asked for analyses that clarify how 340B savings flow through providers and outside contractors so policymakers can evaluate reforms without undermining safety-net services.