Chief Legal and Policy Officer, Steven Newmark, Joins Policy Briefing with Assemblymember Amanda Septimo and the Community Liver Alliance

Steven Newmark, Chief Legal and Policy Officer of the Global Healthy Living Foundation (GHLF), takes the organization’s national 340B reform message to a policy briefing in Albany, NY, on May 13, addressing the national implications of unchecked expansion of the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program — a critical but increasingly controversial tool designed to support healthcare access for underserved populations.

Newmark will join lawmakers, academic experts, and fellow advocates to urge greater transparency and accountability in how hospitals and other healthcare institutions use the steep drug discounts they receive under 340B. While originally intended to help vulnerable patients afford essential medications, the program has come under scrutiny for allowing covered entities to pocket savings without passing them along to patients.

“The 340B program is a lifeline when it works as intended — but without oversight, it risks becoming a loophole instead of a safety net,” said Newmark. “We need reform before expansion. Patients, not institutions, should be the primary beneficiaries.”

As it has in other states, GHLF, a national nonprofit that advocates for people living with chronic illness, is raising concerns about proposed legislation in New York (S.1913 / A.7789) that would make it easier to expand 340B eligibility to additional entities without requiring clear patient benefit or public accountability. The Foundation has issued a memorandum in opposition, warning that such policies may incentivize profit-seeking behavior at the expense of patient care — a trend already observed across multiple states.

The May 13 policy forum, co-hosted by Assemblymember Amanda Septimo and the Community Liver Alliance, comes amid growing national debate about the future of 340B. Lawmakers in Congress have also introduced bills to audit and modernize the program, reflecting a bipartisan understanding that reform is needed to preserve the program’s original mission.

Why It Matters Nationally

• More than $50 billion in drug discounts flow through 340B each year — yet little data exists on how those savings are used.
• Chronic disease patients, especially those with high drug costs, often see no direct community benefit.
• Without reform, analysts warn the program may undermine drug pricing systems and continue to erode public trust.

“This isn’t just a New York issue. Every state should be asking: is 340B still doing what it was meant to do?” said Newmark.

GHLF urges lawmakers nationwide to adopt transparency mandates, patient benefit requirements, and regular audits before allowing the program to expand further.

About GHLF

The Global Healthy Living Foundation is a U.S. based, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, international organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for people with chronic illnesses by advocating for improved access to health care through education, patient-centered clinical research, support, advocacy, and economic and policy research. GHLF is also a staunch advocate for vaccines. The Global Healthy Living Foundation is the parent organization of CreakyJoints®, the international, digital community for millions of people living with arthritis and their supporters worldwide who seek education, support, activism, and patient-centered research in English, Spanish, and French. In addition to arthritis and autoimmune disorders, GHLF supports dermatology, gastroenterology, neurology, cardiology, oncology, infectious disease, rare disease, and pulmonary patients through a host of different programs and activities which draw more than 700,000 patients a month to GHLF websites and create more than 10 million impressions a month on seven social media platforms. In 2024, GHLF had more than 1 million views and listens with its patient-centered audio-visual content, found on YouTube and podcast platforms. GHLF never asks the public for donations, receiving funding instead through governments, non-governmental organizations, foundations, industry, family foundations, and GHLF Co-Founder Louis Tharp. Visit www.ghlf.org for more information.

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“The 340B program is a lifeline when it works as intended — but without oversight, it risks becoming a loophole instead of a safety net.”