With the September 30 deadline for key health care extenders looming, including Medicaid DSH funding, congressional action is urgently needed to prevent $8 billion in cuts. Expect outreach from our team in the coming weeks as we mobilize support to safeguard this critical funding stream—especially in light of provisions in the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill (OB3).
340B Program Featured in Senate HELP Committee Hearing
Before adjourning, lawmakers were busy last week. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) held a July 31 hearing focused on lowering health care costs, where the 340B program was a prominent topic. One witness argued that the program contributes to hospital consolidation and falls short of benefiting patients as intended.
Republicans on the committee homed in on reforming incentives across the health care system, including insurance benefit design, pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) behavior, and the structure of 340B. They emphasized that many stakeholders misunderstand 340B’s purpose—intended to benefit hospitals broadly, not individual patients directly.
Democrats, meanwhile, called out the system’s prioritization of profit over patients. They backed drug pricing reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act and opposed any rollbacks. They also flagged concerns over facility fees and potential coverage losses stemming from OB3.
Both parties agreed that health care costs are too high and that transparency reforms are necessary to improve decision-making and reduce costs. There was bipartisan support for the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act, auditing and oversight of PBMs, and addressing facility fees that burden patients. Members on both sides criticized current incentive structures. Both sides also acknowledged that vertical integration and misaligned payment incentives contribute to cost growth and poor patient outcomes, with consensus that reforms are needed to improve efficiency, reduce waste, and increase accountability.
Additional Hill Activity Last Week
On July 30, HELP held an executive session to advance several bills, including three health-related pieces of legislation (regarding OTC drugs, grants for rural health purposes, and tick-borne disease) that all passed unanimously:
The Senate Appropriations Committee also marked up and advanced its FY 2026 Labor-HHS-Education spending bill by a vote of 26–3, with several members highlighting support for rural hospitals.
Committee Activity This Week
Both the House and Senate are on August recess and will return after Labor Day.
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