By Ted Slafsky
The tactics some opponents of legislation to restore access to 340B prices in the contract pharmacy setting use are getting uglier, but fortunately many brave lawmakers are standing up to these attacks throughout the country.
As I have reported on in previous columns, groups that do not disclose their funding sources are pouring money into states considering contract pharmacy access legislation, ominously warning voters and lawmakers that the 340B program is responsible for illegal immigration, gender surgery for kids and abortions. Most of these efforts have been run by a dark money group called Building America’s Future (BAF) which has close ties to the Trump administration.
Oklahoma Pushes Back
I recently watched a great clip from an Oklahoma Senate hearing in which Sen. Brent Howard (R), the lead sponsor of the state’s 340B contract pharmacy access bill, gave a passionate speech on 340B’s importance to hospitals and independent pharmacies in his state. In the 9-minute dialogue, which included commentary from other committee lawmakers who share the senator’s passion, Howard and his colleagues described the tactics 340B opponents are using to try to kill his contract pharmacy access bill and why he feels strongly that the legislation should become law.
Howard and Sen. Adam Pugh (R), a former Air Force officer, talked about the threats and lies they and other Oklahoma lawmakers faced for supporting the 340B contract pharmacy legislation. This included, as Pugh pointed out, “disgusting text message blasts” that are false and inflammatory. Howard revealed that 340B opponents are not just sending out misleading and provocative messages, but utilizing more aggressive tactics, including outright threats to kills these bills.
In information that I was not aware of until Howard’s colloquy, the senator said drug industry lobbyists showed him disturbing ads last year that they were going to run against him if he continued to support the contract pharmacy legislation. While the pharmaceutical industry may not have convinced him to back down, Howard said the ads were also shown to the leaders of the Oklahoma House who decided to pull the plug on the bill.
This year, it appears that Oklahoma House lawmakers are not going to be bullied into dropping their support for this commonsense legislation.
House Speaker Kyle Hilbert (R) has announced his support for the bill and decried 340B opponents’ tactics.
“We have no problem in this building when people state their position on different items. People are expected to disagree. In fact, it wouldn’t be good government if we didn’t have people disagreeing,” he told the local news publication, the Journal Record. “But (as for those) tactics, I think a strong message was sent that they’re not going to work here in Oklahoma with passage of that.”
Other States’ Efforts
Fortunately, the dark money ads and other threats are mostly backfiring in other states, as well.
Despite BAF ads targeting the lead sponsors of contract pharmacy bills in five red states as “Trump Underminers,” most of these bills appear to be on their way to becoming law. In fact, legislatures in two of those states— South Dakota and Utah—easily passed their respective contract pharmacy access bills.
South Dakota’s governor signed his state’s bill into law on March 11 and Nebraska is on the verge of passing its own bill. There has also been progress on the legislation in North Dakota and Tennessee.
The only bill in a Republican-controlled state that has died so far in 2025 is Kentucky’s, which had easily passed the Senate but was killed in the House. Sen. Stephen Meredith (R), the lead sponsor of the bill who pleaded with his colleagues to enact the much-needed legislation, has vowed to reintroduce it next year. These lawmakers who are willing to withstand the attacks deserve enormous credit. It is not easy to take on a powerful forces, particularly ones with connections to the White House. They deserve our gratitude and support.
Ted Slafsky is the Publisher and CEO of 340B Report, the only news and intelligence service exclusively covering the 340B program. Slafsky, who has over 25 years of leadership experience with the 340B program, is also Founder and Principal of Wexford Solutions.
Ted can be reached at ted.slafsky@340Breport.com.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.
