NAN Gathering Plans to Bring Drug Discount Concerns to Federal Reps

Recently the National Action Network (NAN) Leadership and Awards Breakfast, Chairman, the Reverend Al Sharpton brought together NAN Board Members, State Chapter Chairs, senior staff, and community activists to discuss the increasing concern around the 340B Drug Discount Program.

Rev. Sharpton framed the issue for the audience and asked these leaders to work with likeminded groups and community leaders to help bring more attention to this issue at the federal level:

“When it came to me what was going on with a lot of hospitals and what was happening with putting profits over patients – to me that’s a civil rights issue. That is why we got involved. I agreed to do a town hall on 340B, we did it and tried to create a climate. What NAN is about is climate setting. We come out of the Martin Luther King tradition. Dr. Martin Luther King never voted on legislation in Congress, he set a climate for the Senate and the Congress. In rural communities, hospitals are closing. As a health care issue, this is something that will go beyond party lines. This impacts all communities, but particularly our communities.

Together we agreed to work closely with the Black Women’s Health Imperative, Southern Christian Leadership Policy Council, Frederick Douglass Foundation, Douglass Leadership Institute, National Association of Community Health Centers, National Newspaper Publishers Association, and others to champion necessary federal reforms to ensure that 340B provides material help to underserved communities. We need to account for where the dollars are going so that the program is accountable to patients in need. We will be the voice of our vulnerable communities.

We look forward to engaging our local communities and our federal representatives. In 2005, the program’s annual sales were $3.9 billion dollars. Last year they were $54 billion. The program can be improved where we would see massive upgrades and investments in our community health systems. Congress and the Administration have work to do and we will be reliable partners to help develop meaningful reform.

As NAN State Chairs and leaders, we look forward to the work ahead. Like any civil right issue, we will not rest until we ensure that every underserved community can receive the full benefits of this program. Working together with Congressional and State officials we can ensure that a well-intended program has the required accountability to stop any bad actors from putting Profits Over Patients.”