Rural hospitals worry about the future of an obscure discount drug program they rely on
June 8, 2026
Rural health care facilities in Minnesota are grappling with the implications of the failure of state legislation last month that was meant to strengthen a critical discount drug program, and they now fear that the pharmaceutical industry will further erode the program.
In the final days of this year’s legislative session, a bipartisan bill that appeared on track to pass, failed to get called for a vote. It was a big win for the pharmaceutical industry, which had run an aggressive ad campaign opposing the measure.
The controversial program, called 340B, has changed in scope over the past few decades, and critics accuse large, affluent hospital systems across the country of taking advantage of a program that was never intended to serve them.
“Every one of us would be out of business without 340B,” said Rachelle Schultz, president and CEO of Winona Health.
What is 340B and how does it work? Read the full story.
