Lawmakers want reform after health systems defy purpose of program aimed at helping low-income communities
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Local healthcare system Bon Secours is caught in the middle of a nationwide controversy.
The U.S. Senate Committee on Health Education, Labor and Pensions recently released a report which found the non-profit was one of many across the country benefitting from the 340B program and racked in, between savings and revenue, around $276 million -- without putting that money directly into low-income areas.
Lawmakers are now calling for reform because, even though technically Bon Secours did not violate any explicit rule or law, many believe the program was essentially stripped of its efficacy and integrity by the way it was applied.
The money saved should be going directly to the most vulnerable patients, according to lawmakers.
The 340B program was created in the 1990s with the goal of allowing hospitals in low-income communities to save money on medicines. In 2010, the government changed the guidelines, which resulted in the number of participants skyrocketing from around 800 to 26,000. This, effectively, made monitoring the program more difficult -- so, in 2023, leaders began investigating.
"I taught math for 29 years -- numbers don't lie," said local Pastor Ralph Hodge, in reference to the Senate committee's report.
Hodge has been a vocal advocate for the Southside community for years now. He first weighed in on this healthcare controversy back in 2022 and has acted as a voice drawing attention to the disproportionate accessibility to healthcare between black and white communities in Central Virginia and beyond.
In Bon Secours' case, Richmond Community Hospital -- a facility in a notably lower-income part of the city -- was one of the centers that made Bon Secours eligible for 340B benefits.
"Those communities are underserved," Hodge said. "With regards to doctors, underserved [with] regards to healthcare. They're often low-income, which means they don't have access to the quality care that you oftentimes see in the other communities that always get the investments."
The U.S. Committee on Health Education, Labor and Pensions' report pointed to this conclusion, determining that Bon Secours -- among other systems across the country -- did not pass its financial benefits from the program directly to patients in their most vulnerable communities.
For example, as recently as last year, the health system invested in big-ticket projects in more affluent areas like Hanover County and western Henrico.
"When you hear about an organization benefiting to the tune of $200 plus million, you expect to see a significant investment in those marginalized communities," Hodge said. "Especially when it was the marginalized communities that were the spirit of the rules and the laws that provided those drug discount programs."
As said earlier, the program does not explicitly say all money saved needs to go to a specific place -- which is why lawmakers like U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), as well as community advocates like Hodge, are calling for reform in order to maintain the integrity of the program.
"It should be really clear: if you received $1 million discount, we should see $1 million invested back in those marginalized communities," Hodge said, before reiterating a sentiment he expressed earlier: "Numbers don't lie."
According to the report, Bon Secours did not account for what specific expenses 340B revenue went toward, but the health system cited more than $16 million invested in a medical office building in Richmond's East End.
Additionally, the healthcare system described capital investments totaling more than $3 million in the area.
Hodge believes the proof is in the people.
"Are we seeing lower infant mortality rates in Church Hill?" Hodge asked rhetorically. "Are we seeing less chronic disease? Are we seeing lower blood pressure? Less diabetes? Your investment should have an outcome that's measurable."
A spokesperson for Bon Secours sent 8News a statement which read, in part:
"We stand behind the high-quality health care provided by Richmond Community Hospital to the residents of the City of Richmond, and we are grateful for the important investments in the East End community made possible through participation in the 340B Program. The 340B Program has enabled expanded access to care for our patients, allowed substantial community investments, and has supported services that continue to operate at a loss.
By continuing these conversations and collaborating with policymakers like Senator Cassidy, we hope to ensure that the 340B Program remains a valuable solution in efforts to provide both access and quality care to underserved populations across the country."
Kaine has been a proponent of the program's proper employment for years. He sent 8News a statement Friday afternoon, reiterating how he and other lawmakers look forward to reforming the program to secure its efficacy and integrity.
