(Sept. 26, 2025) – This week, the Kansas Hospital Association, along with our partners at the Community Care Network of Kansas and the Kansas Pharmacists Association, wrapped up the 340B Lunch and Learn series. These educational events convened policymakers, pharmacists, clinics and hospitals to provide education on the importance of the 340B Program to health care access in Kansas.
More than 91 Kansas hospitals are covered entities in the 340B Program. The program enables covered entities to purchase medications at a discount and use those savings to stretch scarce federal resources. Hospitals, in turn, can provide more patients with comprehensive benefits. 340B Lunch and Learn events took place on Aug. 21 in Salina, Sept. 18 in Olathe and Sept. 23 in Wichita.
The health care leaders who attended the 340B Lunch and Learns provided examples to the dozens of elected officials in attendance on how the program provides discounted medications to their patients and supports medically necessary services in their communities. I want to thank all our members who participated in these informative events.
As we educated policymakers this week about the benefits of the 340B program, we learned some Kansas legislators were receiving text messages claiming hospitals were misusing the program. This is on top of the recent Wall Street Journal editorial claiming "rich hospitals have been gaming a discount drug program for the poor." In response to this misleading editorial, the American Hospital Association has submitted a response on behalf of all hospitals. This is a good reminder for members to contact their elected officials and discuss the value of the 340B program in your community.
To assist the membership in communicating the importance of the 340B program, KHA has developed a 340B toolkit. If you or your team have not reviewed the toolkit recently, please explore the many customizable resources available. We encourage members to add hospital logos and utilize the template social media posts. KHA will continue our statewide 340B communication campaign, but it is more impactful if members supplement these efforts by sharing with your community and policymakers just how important the 340B program is to your community. You can also link to or share our public-facing website, www.340BKansas.org, which features member testimonies on the importance of the 340B program. If you need any additional resources or support, let our team at KHA know. Thank you for your work on this essential program for Kansans!
--Chad Austin