The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA) this week hosted a member briefing on the 340B Drug Pricing Program. The webinar explained how a program created to help vulnerable patients has become a costly, opaque system that too often leaves employers and workers footing the bill.

Shawn Gremminger, president and CEO of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, walked members through how 340B allows eligible hospitals and providers to buy certain drugs at steep discounts, then charge employer health plans at commercial rates. Too often, there is no clear requirement that those savings reach patients at the pharmacy counter.

The employer impact is not theoretical. Briefing materials estimated that 340B-related dynamics cost Ohio workers and employers $275 million in lost savings in 2023, or $48 per beneficiary. The presentation also noted that nearly half of Ohio hospitals participate in 340B, while contract pharmacy and outpatient site networks often extend into higher-income areas and across state lines.

“Employers are paying more, patients are not guaranteed the savings and the money trail remains far too murky,” said James Lee, OMA managing director of public policy services. “That is exactly why transparency has to come before expansion.”

OMA continues to urge policymakers to stop treating 340B expansion like a free lunch. Before Ohio locks in or expands these arrangements, employers deserve basic answers. Who is capturing the savings? Are patients benefiting? And why are the businesses financing health coverage being asked to pay more with so little transparency? 6/29/2026