Hospitals and PBMs Hijack Discount Drug Program
Episode Info
The 340B Drug Pricing Program– a federal initiative designed to provide medications to lower income patients at reduced prices–is being manipulated by large health care entities in order to reap tens of billions of dollars in profits with little to no oversight and transparency. As a result, the intended beneficiaries- low-income patients- are being forced to pay full price for medications they cannot afford. National Consumers League CEO Sally Greenberg speaks with Amy Hinojosa, President and CEO of Mana, a National Latina Organization, and Dr. Ge Bai, an expert on health care accounting, finance, and policy at Johns Hopkins University, regarding a shocking lack of transparency for a program that has more than doubled in cost reaching more than $120 Billion in 2022.
Dr. Ge Bai
Ge Bai, PhD, CPA is a Professor of Accounting at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and Professor of Health Policy & Management (joint) at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. An expert on health care accounting, finance, and policy, Dr. Bai has testified before the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate HELP Committee, written for the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, and published her studies in leading academic journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and Health Affairs.
Her work has been widely featured in the media and used in government regulations and congressional testimonies. Dr. Bai has received the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association’s Excellence in Teaching Award. She was a visiting scholar at the Health Analysis Division of the Congressional Budget Office from 2022 to 2023. Dr. Bai writes regularly for Forbes: www.forbes.com/sites/gebai.
Amy Hinojosa
Amy Hinojosa is the President and CEO of MANA, A National Latina Organization, the oldest and largest Latina membership organization in the United States, and its sister organization, MANA Action Fund. MANA focuses on strengthening Latina women and girls through mentoring, education, and advocacy. The signature MANA Hermanitas® program is the only national mentoring program specifically designed for Latina youth. Amy has served in different capacities throughout the MANA organization, starting in 2007, including Director of National Programs, Vice President of Leadership Initiatives, and Executive Director. Prior to returning to MANA in 2013, she served as Executive Director of the National Association of Hispanic Publications, Inc. (NAHP), NAHP Media LLC, and the National Hispanic Press Foundation (NHPF), based in Washington, DC. Amy has extensive experience working on local and national grassroots campaigns targeted at mobilizing voices and actions in Hispanic communities across the country. Community education and engagement have been central to Amy’s work, with a particular emphasis on youth.
As a representative of MANA, Amy currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR), HTTP – The National Latino Voice in Tech & Telecommunications Policy, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), and as Secretary of LIDERAMOS. Amy has been a LATINO Magazine, Huffington Post and Medium Contributor and writes about issues impacting Latinas. She has been a featured speaker at SXSW, The Aspen Institute, on Comcast Newsmakers, and at conferences nationwide. Amy has received the 2019 Humanity of Connection Award, 2021 Outstanding Community Partner Award from the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement, was named one of the 2022 Social Impact Women to Watch by NonprofitHR, and received a 2023 Impact Award from the National Hispanic Media Coalition.
