(Oct. 21, 2026) – The Special Committee on the 340B Drug Pricing Program met Oct. 19-20 for its two scheduled interim days to examine the program's funding and its impact on Kansans and Kansas health care providers.

The committee reviewed how 340B discounts are determined and delivered. The discount is based on the ceiling price for an outpatient drug, which equals the average manufacturer price from the preceding calendar quarter for the smallest unit of measure, minus the unit rebate amount. Covered entities buy eligible drugs at the ceiling price and bill payers at the standard reimbursement rate. The difference represents savings hospitals use to maintain or expand patient services and provide access to life-saving medications. Testifiers said that since 2020, manufacturers have increasingly required additional patient data beyond what the Health Resources and Services Administration requires before distributing 340B discounts. Some hospitals testified the volume of requests and manufacturer audits has forced them to hire additional full-time employees and purchase specialized software.

Contract pharmacies were another key topic. Testifiers emphasized their importance in serving Kansans across wide geographic regions and cautioned against conflating overall 340B program growth with contract pharmacy expansion. They attributed that growth to the networks of large distributors and specialty pharmacies, which operate nationwide and are not always located where drugs are dispensed.

Representatives of the pharmaceutical industry raised concerns about the growth of contract pharmacies since 2010, when Health Resources and Services Administration guidance allowed covered entities to contract with an unlimited number of pharmacies. AbbVie also testified its brand-name products are prescribed at higher rates at 340B entities than at non-340B entities and questioned whether that practice is cost-effective given the higher price of brand-name drugs compared to generics. Additional proponent testimony stated 340B contract pharmacies were critical to serving Kansans, as many areas would otherwise go unserved or underserved.

In closing remarks on the first day of the committee, Sen. Brenda Dietrich addressed 2026 SB 284, which passed the Senate almost unanimously but died in the House. The bill would have limited the data manufacturers can collect and allowed covered entities to contract with an unlimited number of contract pharmacies. Committee members expressed support for the 340B program and openness to adding transparency requirements, provided those requirements apply to manufacturers, as well as covered entities, and include safeguards to prevent manufacturers from using information against covered entities.

The committee also examined the scope of what the state can do to manage a federal program. Members were particularly interested in the federal SUSTAIN 340B Act, introduced by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS). The bill would allow covered entities to use contract pharmacies without a numerical cap, provided each pharmacy dispenses at least one covered outpatient drug in the preceding 12 months. It would also:

• Bar manufacturers from restricting delivery to contract pharmacies or from conditioning sales on claims data.
• Codify a statutory definition of "patient."
• Tighten child-site eligibility with respect to ownership, financial integration and Medicare provider-based rules.
• Require covered entities to report annually on the use of program savings, charity care and patient demographics, and to apply financial assistance policies at child sites and contract pharmacies.
• Create an independent claims-level data clearinghouse to prevent duplicate Medicaid discounting.
• Expand the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services'  and sanction authority and sunset the 340B rebate model pilot within a year.

Recommendations approved by the committee for consideration at the 2027 legislative session include:

• Introduce legislation similar to SB 284, with additional transparency language.
• Consider the transparency language requires identifying where 340B savings go at both the pharmacy and covered entity levels, and how the money is used to benefit Kansas.
• Examine other states' legislation regarding patient pass-through of 340B discounts.

The following committee members voted in favor of introducing legislation to protect 340B:

• Sen. Brenda Dietrich (R-SH)
• Sen. Marci Francisco (D-DG)
• Rep. Lisa Moser (R-MS)
• Rep. Melissa Oropeza- (D-WY)
• Sen. Tim Shallenburger (R-CK)
• Rep. Brandon Woodard (D-JO)