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Tax-exempt hospitals in the 340B drug savings program provided $51.7 billion in total benefits to their communities in 2015, the most recent year for which data is available, according to an analysis released today by the AHA. “Savings from the 340B drug savings program allow eligible hospitals to provide a multitude of benefits to communities with a significant number of vulnerable patients,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. “These benefits go well beyond financial assistance for needy patients and include care and services such as wellness clinics, nutritional services and mental health clinics, the addition of nurses, social workers and transportation services to serve vulnerable patients and many other vital services that would otherwise be unavailable.” Funded by drug company discounts, not federal dollars, the 340B program was created by Congress more than 25 years ago “to stretch scarce federal resources as far as possible, reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive services.”