In an attempt to save taxpayers and the solvency of the country, President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency have been cutting millions of dollars in hidden waste. They should turn their sights to the 340B program, one of the most wasteful and abused programs the government has to offer. 

What was once a well-intentioned initiative to assist nonprofit hospitals in low-income communities, the 340B Drug Pricing Program has morphed into an unchecked profiteering scheme. 

In 2010, the Obama administration opened the floodgates to government waste by changing the rules to allow 340B hospitals to include contract pharmacies and other provider types. Nonprofit hospitals are still using a loophole in the federal program to turn their services intended to help the poor into cash-cow profit centers. 

Many of these hospitals are nonprofit in name only, exploiting their tax-exempt status and the 340B program. Many institutions qualify for the program by operating a facility or clinic in a low-income area, but shift their outpatient services and specialty practices to wealthier neighborhoods where they can charge higher rates.

These hospitals operate under the guise of helping the poor and purchase deeply discounted drugs through 340B, then bill insurers, often at full price, at upscale satellite clinics, which are far removed from the underserved communities the program was meant to help. They aren’t just ripping off........

© Washington Examiner