# 340B Drug Pricing Program The **340B Drug Pricing Program** requires drug manufacturers to sell outpatient drugs at steep discounts to **safety-net providers** — disproportionate-share hospitals, community health centers, and certain clinics — so those providers can stretch scarce resources to serve more low-income patients. ## Why It Matters 340B is a rare program where the discount is mandatory and substantial, making it vital to [[Safety-Net Hospital]] finances. But it has become contested terrain: hospitals and contract pharmacies can profit on the spread between the 340B purchase price and what they're reimbursed, and [[Big Pharma]] has counterattacked by restricting contract-pharmacy access — turning 340B into one of the hottest fights in [[Drug Pricing]]. It also intersects with [[Drug Price Negotiation]], since negotiated Medicare prices and 340B prices can overlap. See [[Drug Pricing]].