In Washington, D.C., lawmakers are engaged in marathon talks about how to reduce health care costs. There haven’t been any breakthroughs so far, but here’s a handy suggestion: they could stop funding programs that encourage hospitals to overbill the federal government.

Let’s talk about 340B, the drug pricing problem that you may not have heard of, but the one that seems to have swallowed the federal budget.

The program started as an attempt to help hospitals that serve poor communities afford prescription drugs. “The program allows 340B hospitals to stretch limited federal resources to reduce the price of outpatient pharmaceuticals for patients and expand health services to the patients and communities they serve,” the American Hospital Association (which supports the program) writes. It’s a nice thought, sort of like believing Santa delivers gifts or the Easter Bunny delivers candy.

Here is where the problem comes in. “Hospitals use 340B savings to provide, for example, free care for uninsured patients, offer free vaccines, provide services in mental health clinics, and implement medication management and community health programs,” the AHA claims. In reality, many hospital systems are using the money to fund services at their........

© Townhall