Community health centers ask for additional protections / Public News Service

Community health centers are asking state and federal lawmakers for additional protections against drugmakers for drastically excluding them from a federal drug rebate program.

The 340B Drug Pricing Program allows health centers to purchase outpatient drugs at reduced costs, so they can then provide them to more patients while pharmaceutical companies are reimbursed. But over the past two years, drug producers and third-party prescription drug benefit managers have restricted the centers, threatening their financial stability.

A investigation by the National Association of Community Health Centers shows that more than half of their patients would go without necessary medications, including insulin for diabetic patients and inhalers for children with asthma, if they were excluded from the program.

Ben Browning, vice president and CEO of the Florida Association of Community Health Centers, explained the importance of the program.

“These contractual arrangements are really the cornerstone,” Browning argued. “They are the lifeline for many patients who otherwise might not have access to these discounted, discounted drugs.”

But the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the lobbying arm of the drug manufacturing industry, opposed the program. must change, saying there is little to no evidence that patients benefit. They are also asking the centers to share data in an effort to combat potential fraud and abuse in the system.

Browning argued that the centers continue to meet a critical need, as many health care providers do not have the financial resources to support an in-house pharmacy. The survey showed that 86% of health centers use contract pharmacies, allowing them to serve hundreds of postcodes.

“Put protections in the law, in the regulations, in the law, that say the 340B program is an essential part of the health care system,” Browning urged. “This is an essential part of maintaining and securing the safety net.”

It is estimated that registered hospitals and other entities covered in 340B can reach average savings of 25% to 50% in pharmaceutical purchases. The issue is also playing out in court with conflicting rulings across the country.

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A new coalition of West Virginia businesses and nonprofits is poised to create at least 3,000 new green industry jobs. They say they just need funding to do it.

Brandon Dennison, founder and CEO of the nonprofit Coalfield Development, leads the coalition called Appalachian climate technology (Act now). Dennison said the coalition is a finalist in the Biden administration’s Build Back Better regional challenge, and if selected, it will receive $100 million to kick-start the region’s economy by growing the solar industry, sustainably recovering former mining sites, by renovating buildings to make them more energy efficient. effective and attracting green manufacturers to the region.

“There’s a unique opening in time right now where we can really leap forward for this region, and that would have hugely positive results for our country,” Dennison said. “And if you think about it from a climate change perspective, really positive results for our planet.”

Dennison added that they will find out if they have been selected in the coming months.

Many studies have pointed to renewable energy such as wind and solar as a way to create well-paying jobs for left-behind Appalachian communities. A report published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory revealed that the Mountain State has the potential to create thousands of jobs in solar power, wind power, battery storage and energy efficiency.

Dennison noted that many West Virginians don’t rely on coal to support their families or to support the next generation.

“In many ways, we kind of went through the heartbreak with the coal industry and came to accept that coal will never be what it was,” Dennison observed. “We may not be happy about this, but if we want to survive, we’re going to have to adapt.”

Federal data show that coal production in the United States has fallen by more than 24% since 2019.

Since then, the average number of employees in American coal mines has dropped by more than 10,000 employees. Proponents of the coal industry have argued that fossil fuels are essential to keeping Americans’ electricity supply affordable.

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Pennsylvania’s budget deadline approaches Thursday. Governor Tom Wolf calls for a minimum wage increase that would bring the state to $15 an hour by 2028.

A new brief profiles the workers who would benefit.

Keystone Research Center analysis found that about 1.46 million workers in Pennsylvania would see higher wages from the raise.

Claire Kovach, senior research analyst at Keystone Research Center, said the workers who would benefit the most are those deemed essential during the pandemic, such as those in healthcare, retail, social services, etc

She said the state minimum wage has been stagnating for too long.

“One of the minimum wage jobs I had 12 years ago still advertises $7.25 an hour today,” Kovach said. “So the minimum wage worker that’s where I was a dozen years ago, he’s getting a wage with about 25% less purchasing power than I was then.”

The increase to $15 by 2028 would equate to an increase of $3,800 for the average full-year worker, Kovach said.

If passed, the gradual increase would begin with a boost to $12 an hour in July. Opponents of raising the minimum wage worry about the costs to businesses.

The brief also reveals that of the entire proposed minimum wage increase from July 2022 to July 2028, about $30 billion would be pumped back into the state’s economy.

Kovach added that with rising inflation and growing financial insecurity among Pennsylvanians, an increase in the minimum wage could be a lifeline for families.

“There’s an interesting thing that happens when you give low-wage workers a raise,” Kovach said. “They don’t store that money in offshore accounts. That money goes directly back into the economy and actually generates more economic movement and more economic benefit to communities than some other economic stimulus.”

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Living Wage Calculator shows that today a single adult in Pennsylvania needs to earn almost $17 an hour to support themselves, while a single adult with one child needs almost $33 an hour to support themselves to the needs of his family.

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There are less than five months until the general election in November, in which Pennsylvania voters will choose a new governor and US senator.

A new poll commissioned by AARP Pennsylvania showed what residents over 50 think of the candidates and the issues. In the 2018 midterm elections, Pennsylvanians age 50 and older made up 61% of all voters in the state.

The AARP poll includes opinions on this year’s political races, including the contest for governor, with Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin. Shapiro leads Mastriano by three points.

Bob Ward, partner and pollster at Fabrizio Ward, said for voters over 50, it’s an even tighter race.

“There’s a point lead for Shapiro over Mastriano,” Ward reported. “And so more than 50 voters, because of their size but also the competitive nature of the election in the race for governor, will have an impact. Candidates have to be careful about what’s important to those voters.”

In the race for the Senate, Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman has a six percentage point lead over Republican TV personality Mehmet Oz. And 77% of respondents think the state is “going in the wrong direction”.

Some 30% of Pennsylvania voters polled said the economy was working well for them. However, one of their biggest concerns, which could influence their votes in November, is rising prices. For Republicans surveyed, it’s their top priority, while Democrats cite gun safety as their top issue.

Matt Hogan, partner and pollster at Impact Research, said the results also show inflation is still a concern for all parties.

“When we test it on its own and ask them to rate the importance, we certainly find that it is also a dominant issue for the Democrats, it just does not rise to the top when we ask them to choose what is most important,” Hogan explained. “We are definitely seeing an increase in firearms [as an important issue] following Uvalde.”

Other issues that emerge as important to voters include immigration for Republicans, access to abortion and honesty in government for Democrats. The survey, which reached nearly 1,400 likely Pennsylvania voters, was conducted this month via landline, cellphone and text.

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