Anil Shankar Shares Insight on Proposition 34, Impact to 340B Program

Foley & Lardner LLP partner Anil Shankar offered insight on California’s Proposition 34, a ballot measure this election season, in the KCRW article, “Confused on Prop 34? It’s about the politics of rent control.”

“There is no legal structure right now that says you have to use it in certain ways or report it,” Shankar said, shedding light on the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program, which would be regulated under Proposition 34. “If you’re a covered entity, legally, your argument is going to be, ‘That’s my money. I was entitled to it by federal law and there’s no requirement on how I spend it.’” 

“There’s no federal money in the 340B program,” he continued, clarifying that 340B revenues earned by providers are not taxpayer dollars. “It’s a discount that comes straight from private companies – pharmaceutical manufacturers.”

Shankar said Prop 34’s impact on Californians would be minimal. “You’re going to see a very small amount of change from this bill,” he added. “That’s because on the 340B side, it’s very specific about who it’s targeting and the conditions that have to meet in order to be affected. And then on the Medi-Cal Rx side, it’s just an administrative change to continue the status quo.”