The Health Resources and Services Administration has disclosed the 10 drugmakers approved for its revised 340B rebate pilot, a program that will move 21 drugs from upfront discounts to after-the-fact payments starting Jan. 1. The list includes AbbVie, Merck, Pfizer, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Astellas Pharma, GlaxoSmithKline and Teva — a broader set than the 14 drugs approved in the agency's first attempt, which was blocked by a judge last year.
Under the pilot, 340B providers will buy drugs through wholesalers and then request rebates after dispensing to eligible patients. They must submit claim data to an IT platform called Beacon, which verifies eligibility before manufacturers pay the difference between the wholesaler price and the lower 340B price. HRSA requires drugmakers to pay rebates within 10 days and bars them from denying claims based on evidence of drug diversion or duplicate discounts; instead, they must raise such concerns directly with regulators.
Hospitals and other 340B providers have long opposed the shift, arguing that drugmakers' fraud concerns are overstated and that rebates give manufacturers an excuse to withhold valid discounts. Notably, Johnson & Johnson and Novo Nordisk, which had plans approved last year, are absent from the updated list. The pilot is slated to run for at least a year, with a performance evaluation expected by April 30, 2028.