An Arkansas official has said the state will contest, as a violation of state law, Johnson & Johnson’s plan to provide rebates rather than upfront discounts on certain drugs in the 340B Drug Pricing Program.
In published reports, the official signaled the state’s intent to challenge J&J’s decision to require 340B covered entities to purchase Stelara and Xarelto without upfront discounts. J&J has said it will implement the change on Oct. 15.
In 2021, Arkansas passed the 340B Drug Pricing Nondiscrimination Act to protect 340B covered entities and contract pharmacies from drug industry restrictions on access to 340B discounts. The law prohibits pharmaceutical manufacturers from mandating that a pharmacy “reverse, resubmit, or clarify a 340B drug-pricing claim after the initial adjudication” and requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to extend 340B discounts to all legal contract pharmacies. Arkansas is one of eight states to have passed legislation enshrining protections for contract pharmacies and the first to signal an intent to enforce statutory protections in response to J&J’s illegal rebate-based plan.
Following J&J’s Aug. 23 communication to disproportionate share hospitals about its rebate plan, America’s Essential Hospitals wrote the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) on Aug. 28, outlining the negative consequences of withholding discounts and urging the agency to act immediately to prevent the stop the rebate plan. In a statement to the media, a HRSA spokesperson called the unilateral decision “inconsistent” with federal law and said the agency will take “appropriate actions as warranted.”
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