Highlighting Community Health Centers and the Importance of the 340B Program

2024 Autoimmune Community Summit Session Recap

The Autoimmune Association and Basim Khan, CEO of Neighborhood Health, provided an Advocacy Update that everyone should know about. Their session at the recent Autoimmune Community Summit was centered around access to community health centers and reform of the 340B program. I believe that every patient should be able to access the healthcare that they need and understand all the ways that make this possible.

Let’s start with some definitions.

Community Health Centers are non-profit organizations that help anyone in the community that needs access to health care. They primarily target those who are underinsured, are on Medicaid, or have high deductibles. There are 1400 community health centers across the US. These clinics offer primary care services such as annual health checks, vaccinations, women's health, lab services, and mental health.

340B is a pharmacy program that allows qualified health centers like community health centers to purchase prescription drugs at discounted prices. If you receive care at these community health centers you can qualify for 340b drug pricing.

Now that we have definitions, you might be thinking these are great services but you said this was an advocacy update, so what's the catch? 

The catch is that not all of the health centers are passing their prescription discounts onto the patients. In order to combat that, there are bills advocating for 340B reform going to your legislatures now. These bills would ensure that discounts are being passed down to patients. These bills also incentivize hospitals to keep their facilities closer to the underserved communities that need it. If you are interested in supporting this reform, sign up here.

Now that we know what these programs are and where reform is needed, let’s focus on how you can get the affordable care you need. There are a couple ways you can do this. First, is to visit one of the 1400 community health centers. You can find a community health center here. The second option is to check your health care providers website to see if they offer financial assistance programs. Many of them offer payment plans, and other ways to receive assistance to help you pay your bills. Lastly, check the drug manufacturer’s website to see if they have financial aid or copay assistance programs. Bottom line is there are so many ways to get affordable care, so do your research and reach out to AiArthritis if you need help. 

Recordings from the 2024 Autoimmune Community Summit are available on YouTube.

Citations:

1. https://autoimmune.org/advocacy/understanding-340b/

2. https://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/