An inquiry by a U.S. senator has found that three nonprofit hospitals in North Carolina have made millions from a discount drug program intended to help the poor and uninsured. Hundreds of U.S. hospitals, including more than 40 in North Carolina, obtain deep discounts on outpatient drugs under a rapidly growing federal program called 340B. The plan requires drug manufacturers to cut prices to hospitals that treat large numbers of financially needy patients. But U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, says information he obtained from Duke University Hospital, Carolinas Medical Center and UNC Hospitals raise questions about whether the program is functioning as intended.
