Infusion therapy represents one of the greatest advancements in modern medicine, offering patients life-changing treatments for chronic and complex conditions like autoimmune diseases, cancer, and neurological disorders.
These therapies provide relief, improve quality of life, and, in many cases, offer the only viable treatment option for those suffering from debilitating illnesses. There are more than 60 independent infusion centers across the State of Oklahoma that ensure these treatments are accessible, costeffective, and high quality. However, their ability to serve patients is being undermined by a federal drug discount program that has veered far from its intended purpose, prioritizing hospital profits over patient care.
The 340B Drug Pricing Program was originally designed to help vulnerable patients access medications and care at reduced costs. Instead, it has become a profit-generating mechanism for large hospitals and health systems—at the expense of independent providers and, ultimately, patients. With the introduction of House Bill 2048, Oklahoma risks further entrenching this broken system rather than reforming it.
340B was created with good intentions: to provide discounted drugs to hospitals and clinics serving high numbers of uninsured and low-income patients. The idea was simple—facilities would buy medications at reduced prices and pass the savings on to patients. But that’s not what’s happening today.
Instead of ensuring affordability, large hospital systems use 340B as a revenue stream. They acquire drugs at steep discounts—sometimes up to 80% off market price—then bill insurance companies and patients at full price, pocketing the difference. Many hospitals expand their networks by opening contract pharmacies in wealthier areas to maximize profits, rather than focusing on the low-income communities the program was meant to serve.
Independent providers do not receive these advantages. Hospitals exploit the 340B program by buying low and billing high, pocketing the difference. Meanwhile, infusion centers often pay full market prices and struggle financially due to low reimbursement rates. This creates an unfair advantage for hospitals and threatens the viability of independent infusion centers.
The biggest tragedy of 340B’s misuse is that it harms the very people it was meant to help. Patients often assume they will benefit, but in reality, they face inflated costs while hospitals reap financial rewards. Our members regularly see patients struggle to afford their treatments, hospitals benefiting from 340B discounts rarely pass those savings on to them.
Additionally, because hospitals dominate the market through 340B, they drive out independent providers. This consolidation limits patient choice, increases costs, and forces many Oklahomans to travel longer distances for care. In a rural state like Oklahoma, that can mean the difference between receiving treatment and going without.
Instead of addressing these issues, House Bill 2048 protects hospitals’ ability to exploit the 340B program while doing nothing to ensure patients benefit. It would prevent much-needed oversight and transparency, allowing large health systems to continue treating 340B as a financial boon rather than a patient assistance program.
We need reforms that ensure 340B savings actually reach patients. Hospitals should be required to disclose how they use their 340B revenue and reinvest it in direct patient assistance. The program must be structured so independent providers—who are often more cost-effective and more accessible—are not pushed out by hospital monopolies.
In an environment where non-hospital infusion centers must purchase drugs at market prices while facing constant reimbursement cuts, the nation’s largest drug discount program must work for patients— not drive market distortion and give hospitals an unfair advantage. The people who need healthcare the most are not receiving discounted or free access to the treatments they need when and where they need them.
Oklahomans deserve transparency, accountability, and a healthcare system that puts patients first. House Bill 2048 fails to deliver on those principles. Instead, it enables hospitals to keep profiting while independent providers struggle, and patients suffer.
Oklahomans should call on their State Representatives to reject this misguided bill and push for meaningful 340B reform that prioritizes patients over hospital profits. Oklahomans deserve a healthcare system that works for them—not one that lines the pockets of hospital executives at their expense.
( EDITOR’S NOTE: Nyquist is the President and CEO of the National Infusion Center Association.)
