Colorado patients, unions and employers can’t afford Senate Bill 71! Tell lawmakers it’s time to stand up to  large hospital system’s greed and hold them accountable!

 Senate Bill 71 puts hospital profits ahead of patients, increasing medication costs for Coloradans and reducing transparency for mega-hospital systems by allowing them to abuse 340B–a medication program, meant for vulnerable, low-income patients. 9News found these same billion-dollar hospital systems are suing patients on a daily basis under a false name in an attempt to recoup the hospital markup on a drug that was purchased at a discounted, 340B price.

The expansion of this abuse under Senate Bill 71 is estimated to cost an additional $23 million to unions, employers and local governments annually. The 340B program is already costing Colorado Employers over $150 million annually.

Tell lawmakers Coloradans deserve accountability and transparency and can’t afford Senate Bill 71.

More about Senate Bill 71:

While Colorado patients are seeing health care costs sky-rocket, Senate Bill 71 allows corporate hospital systems to expand their abuses of the 340B medication program–a program meant for rural hospitals and clinics serving low-income patients–system wide. While 340B was created to help reduce costs for vulnerable populations, hospital systems, Pharmacy Benefit Managers and other actors have worked to manipulate the system to pocket these savings since 340B dollars don’t follow the patient. In fact, a 2022 study revealed that only 1.4% of patients receive a discount when filling 340B prescriptions at contract 340B pharmacies. In many cases, patients don’t even know they are receiving 340B medications, as the discounts are not identified at the point-of-sale.

Studies also show LESS money is going to the true safety-net rural hospitals and community health centers the program was meant to benefit. In 2012, nearly 40% of the $12 billion program went to federal grantees, such as FQHCs and Ryan White centers. Fast forward to 2023, where only 14% of the explosive $66 billion program went to those same federal grantees. The majority now goes to large, tax-exempt hospital systems. The same hospital systems that are targeting working-class families with lawsuits for medication costs they often didn’t even pay.

Senate Bill 71 increases costs, reduces transparency and creates serious equity concerns for Colorado patients. Lawmakers must hold large tax-exempt hospital systems accountable and vote no!