Governor Gavin Newsom released his fiscal year (FY) 2022-23 proposed state budget in January. The Governor’s budget proposal makes significant investments to healthcare initiatives such as: COVID-19 Response and Recovery, workforce investment programs and the expansion of Medi-Cal for all income eligible adults, regardless of their immigration status. Unfortunately, Governor Gavin Newsom’s efforts fall short of protecting community health centers (CHCs). We need your help to send a message to Governor Newsom urging him to augment the 340B Drug Discount Programs’ Supplemental Payment Pool (SPP) fund by $50 million, using state budget funds which will be matched by the federal government.
Governor Newsom’s Executive Order (N-01-19) transitioned all pharmacy services from Medi-Cal Managed Care to Fee-For-Service. The transition will result in a loss of approximately $1.3 million in savings which NEVHC receives from the 340B Drug Discount Program. NEVHC purchases drugs at a discounted rate and re-invests the savings to improve access to care for our patients.
NEVHC uses savings from the 340B Drug Discount Program to:
· Fill over 120,000 prescriptions at our licensed clinical-pharmacy located at our San Fernando Health Center.
· Integrate an ambulatory care pharmacist who manages and modifies drug therapies based on the patients’ need.
· Invest in pharmacy automation services, which help improve safety and allows more time for our pharmacists to care for our patients.
Increasing the SPP fund will ensure that we can mitigate the losses incurred by the 340B pharmacy transition. Visit our toolkit to learn how you can send an e-mail to Governor Gavin Newsom urging him to increase the SPP by $50 million with an additional $50 million from federal matching funds to relieve the $200 million shortfall of community health centers.
