Sen. Moran, there’s nothing conservative about gutting vital drug discount program | Opinion

Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran has been tapped in the new Congress to join a bipartisan “working group” on the 340B Drug Pricing Program — a title that sounds vague enough to mean anything but important enough to mean everything.

At stake? Potentially, the survival of rural health care in Kansas. And possibly whether drug lobbyists get a bigger yacht.

For those who need a refresher, 340B was created in 1992 under President George H. W. Bush — back when conservatives still believed in balancing budgets and keeping small-town hospitals open. The program requires drug companies to sell outpatient medications at a discount to nonprofit hospitals and health centers, freeing up funds to serve patients who can’t afford the full sticker price.

These savings aren’t padding anyone’s retirement. In Kansas, they’re paying for emergency room doctors, rural clinics, after-school programs and in one town, an entire case management department. In fact, 84 of Kansas’ 94 participating 340B hospitals are rural. And nearly 9 out of 10 of those are losing money. Without 340B, many won’t survive — unless we start trading cattle for MRIs.

So why would anyone want to gut it?

Cue PhRMA, the pharmaceutical industry’s lobbying machine, now hiding behind a new campaign ironically called the Alliance to Save America’s 340B Program, or ASAP 340B. PhRMA is indeed a “partner” of ASAP 340B. So is a group called CANN, which is backed by major drug companies and advised by lobbyists with resumes longer than a CVS receipt — and which recently ran an op-ed criticizing the 340B program in Kansas media sources. That’s like letting the fox join the chicken safety task force.

Let’s be honest: None of this lines up with conservative values. Defunding rural hospitals? Undermining a G.H.W. Bush-era program that helps the working class? Since when did Kansas Republicans start carrying water for Big Pharma?

The 340B drug discount program isn’t welfare — it’s self-reliance. It’s about making a dollar go farther in places Washington forgets. And Kansas has stood up to protect it: This year, the Legislature passed a provision requiring drug companies to honor 340B discounts at local pharmacies.

Sen. Moran knows Kansas. He’s long championed rural health care. But this is a moment to hold the line. If Big Pharma’s lobbyists get their way, Kansans won’t be saving money on drugs — they’ll be driving 90 miles to get them.

No one wins elections in Kansas by siding with corporations over communities. And you certainly don’t win them by making rural voters pay more for insulin.

This story was originally published April 16, 2025 at 5:01 AM.