Pharmacy Discounts That Save Lives: Inside MedLink's 340B Program

What happens when patients can finally afford the medication they truly need instead of settling for what they can pay for? The answer is transformative healthcare.

Pharmacy Director Dennis Kimbrell shares a surprising revelation from his experience with the 340B drug pricing program at MedLink. When he first joined the organization, he expected to help patients save money on their existing medications. Instead, he discovered something far more impactful – patients weren't using effective medications at all because they simply couldn't afford them.

 This conversation shows how the 340B program helps in two big ways: it saves patients money, and it also helps MedLink keep offering important health services to the community. Thanks to these savings, MedLink has been able to grow and add dental care, mental health help, addiction recovery support, and imaging services — all of which are hard to find in rural or low-income areas. 

 Dennis also talks about how hard it is for some people to get proper healthcare, especially in places where there aren’t enough doctors or many people don’t have insurance. The 340B program lets clinics like MedLink offer care at lower costs, using a sliding fee scale based on how much money a family makes. This way, people can get the care they need — no matter their financial situation. 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome back to the MedLink Health Connections
podcast.
I'm your host, angela, andtoday we're continuing our
discussion on the 340B drugpricing program here at MedLink
with our pharmacy director,dennis Kimbrell.
We will explore how the 340Bpharmacies benefit patients by
providing lower cost medicationsand reducing out-of-pocket
expenses, and so much more.
Dennis, thank you so much forjoining us again.

(00:23):
Can you kind of start off bygiving us a brief overview of
everything we covered in episodeone, for those who haven't
listened, and then go into howpatients benefit directly from
the 340B pricing program?

Speaker 2 (00:34):
Okay, well, in the previous episode we spoke in
depth a little about the 340Bdrug pricing program and how it
allows for MedLink to purchasemedications at a discounted
price for two purposes, you know.
One is to offer a discountedmedication to our patients to

(00:54):
save them money, and to allowMedLink to use the 340B savings
to support all of our servicesthat we offer.
So for as far as how a patientdirectly benefits, I think it's
pretty obvious that the programcan help lower out-of-pocket
drug costs for patients.
That's the big one, that's theobvious one.

(01:15):
However, the program alsoallows patients to have access
to necessary medications.
Often providers have toconsider what someone can afford
when they're trying to developa medication plan to treat their
condition, and having access toa newer, possibly more
effective medication at a moreaffordable cost can allow

(01:38):
patients to get actually betterand can achieve a better health
outcome for them.
And patients also directlybenefit when Medlink is able to
take those 340B savings andoffer additional services to
provide a more comprehensivehealth care to our patients.
Overall, I think the programplays a crucial role in just

(02:00):
making health care moreaffordable and accessible.

Speaker 1 (02:04):
I can agree because I know you hear stories all the
time about people not being ableto access medications that they
need because of the one factorof money.
And if we offer it at a moreaffordable price, the chances of
them being able to meet thatneed is higher than sometimes

(02:26):
not.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
That makes sense.
Yeah, and the second part Imade about more necessary
medications.
That is so much bigger thanpeople give it credit for.
You know, when I startedworking for MedLink in 2015, I
came from a retail establishmentand you know we filled

(02:50):
medications and you either gotit or you didn't get it.
It was corporate.
So if you're insured, you gotit.
If you're uninsured, you gotsomething cheaper.
You know, you got something onthe zero dollar list or the four
dollar list.
And when I first started atMedLink and I came in and I saw
what we could do for patientsand I immediately thought, wow,

(03:13):
I'm going to be able to save somuch money for these patients.
I mean, we're going to be ableto price something that is a
first line therapy you know, thebest thing you can give for
diabetes and we're going to beable to make it affordable.
We're going to save so muchmoney for patients.
Well, it turns out we didn'tsave any money for patients
because none of those patientswere using those medications.

(03:34):
They were all just usingwhatever they could afford cheap
medications.
So what was more impactful wasactually being able to put them
on something that actually madea difference in the results.
So they went from usingsomething that was a zero dollar
drug at Publix or a four dollardrug at Walmart to using

(03:56):
something that was actuallyeffective, and that was what
surprised me and that's what hadthe most impact on me.
As you know, at the time I wasa pharmacist working the counter
and that's where I saw the mostbenefit and I got the most
satisfaction from.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
Yeah, that's amazing because I know it's so hard
nowadays with medication andeverything and I love that's
really amazing.
In what ways do 340B pharmaciessupport broader healthcare
services for communities?

Speaker 2 (04:29):
Well, the covered entities that participate in
340B now.
I've already mentioned thatthey're able to retain the
savings costs when they purchase340B medications and be able to
use that to support thepatients they serve.
So I'll just use Medlink as anexample.
I know experience from here atMedlink that the 340B savings
have helped to expand ourservices to more patients and

(04:52):
more communities where a qualityand affordable health care is
needed the most, and we've alsobeen able to offer new service
lines for our patients.
Since I've been here, we'veadded dental services, mental
health services, medication,assisted drug recovery programs,
imaging services, just to namea few.

(05:13):
The 340B program is essentialfor health centers like MedLink
to help meet the needs of thecommunity.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
And what role does the 340B pharmacy play in
addressing some of those healthdisparities in the low-income
areas?

Speaker 2 (05:36):
Well, I think it's important to also realize that
340B entities in general oftenoperate where they're needed
most.
So often that's in a rural areathat does not have access to
adequate health care, or maybein a low-income area where
patients are often uninsured.
And I just touched on how 340bis not only a resource for you

(05:59):
know, medlink and other coveredentities to provide affordable
medications, but also essentialin supporting our efforts to
provide an affordablecomprehensive health care option
as well.
Now, all of these services thatwe offer, we also offer a
sliding fee for patients.
They give them reduced pricesbased on their household income,

(06:20):
and there is just not enoughfederal funding to cover the
needs of our communities.
So these 340B savings are trulyessential to overcome this gap
that seems to be growing everyyear in federal funding that is
needed to serve our communities.
So to me, the 340B drug pricingprogram is truly essential for

(06:42):
MedLink to provide affordablehealth care to everyone in our
communities.

Speaker 1 (06:47):
I can agree.
I can agree.
It truly is important and Ithink MedLink is important to
our communities as well.
It helps so much in so manydifferent ways and I hope that
others can start to learn all ofthese different ways that
MedLink is helping, because Ithink it's not as prevalent as
you would hope it is or obviousas you would hope it is, and I

(07:11):
thank you so much for joining metoday to kind of talk about
some of these ways that we helpour communities and thank you so
much for all of yourknowledgeable information that
you gave us.

Speaker 2 (07:24):
Well, thank you so much for having me.
I truly enjoyed it.

Speaker 1 (07:28):
Thank you for tuning in to the MedLink Health
Connections podcast.
We hope you found today'sepisode informative and
inspiring.
If you enjoyed the show, pleasesubscribe, rate and leave a
review on your favorite podcastplatform.
Remember, the informationshared in this podcast is for
educational purposes only andshould not replace professional
medical advice.

(07:48):
Always consult with yourhealthcare provider for any
medical concerns.
Stay connected with us onsocial media and visit our
website at MedlinkGAorg for moreresources and updates.
Until next time, stay healthyand take care.