Illinois patients need prescription drug relief

Patient health care – particularly for those who can least afford it – faces an uncertain future. Debates over how to provide care to our most vulnerable communities at all levels of government are jeopardizing the support system millions count on to stay healthy.

Community health centers across Illinois are uniting this spring behind one answer: legislation that will end dangerous restrictions on the popular, vital 340B federal prescription drug discount program.

Pharmaceutical companies are using loopholes to restrict patient access to local pharmacies for medication under 340B and that is also harming health centers’ services funded by 340B discounts – from free transportation to and from the doctor’s office to mammogram screenings and mobile care clinics.

IPHCA is asking state legislators to pass the Illinois Patient Access to 340B Pharmacy Protection Act legislation this spring. It’s modeled after laws passed in 13 other states that have withstood challenges in federal courts.

The proposed Illinois Patient Access to 340B Pharmacy Protection Act will simply end drug companies’ efforts to restrict health center partnerships with local pharmacies under the program. The proposal has no cost for taxpayers, a key point as financial considerations dominate health care policy discussions.

In the coming weeks, state lawmakers will debate how we shape prescription drug access and affordability and provide care to our most vulnerable communities – at a time when the future is unclear. We urge our leaders to stand with community health centers and patients by shoring up the future of 340B protections in Illinois. We are counting on the help when so many aren’t sure what storm they will face next.

Ollie Idowu, President and CEO

Illinois Primary Health Care Association

Springfield