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Ascension has emphasized its commitment to improving access and affordability for prescription medications through several initiatives, including its Ascension Rx Medication Assistance Team. This team connects providers and patients with prescription services, aiming to improve access, coordination, and safety. According to Ascension, the program helps reduce administrative burdens for healthcare staff while also helping patients who cannot afford their prescriptions.
The organization notes that rising prescription drug prices are a significant issue nationwide. It cites data showing that launch prices for new medications more than doubled between 2021 and 2024, and list prices for popular Medicare drugs have nearly doubled since their introduction. Ascension acknowledges these challenges and states it is working to help patients manage them.
A key component of Ascension’s strategy is the use of the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program. This program allows safety-net hospitals to buy certain outpatient drugs at discounted rates, enabling providers to stretch limited resources further without additional taxpayer cost. More than 50 Ascension facilities participate in this program.
Ascension Rx provides qualifying patients with a 340B-funded card that can help with out-of-pocket expenses for prescriptions, even if the medications are not eligible under 340B rules. The goal is to increase medication adherence, reduce hospital readmissions, and improve patient satisfaction.
Examples of these efforts include:
- In Florida, Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola’s medication assistance card program helped low-income patients fill almost 9,000 prescriptions, saving them over $2.1 million.
- In Indiana, Ascension Saint Vincent started a Pharmacotherapy clinic to assist with medication access and management.
- In Tennessee, Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford operates a charitable care pharmacy providing free or low-cost medications to qualifying individuals; in fiscal year 2024 it dispensed over 27,000 prescriptions to more than 6,400 low-income or uninsured people.
- In Oklahoma, Ascension Saint John Sapulpa opened an outpatient infusion center providing IV therapy access for residents including Medicaid beneficiaries.
Ascension asserts that while programs like 340B do not solve the issue of high drug prices entirely, they remain effective tools for supporting vulnerable communities. The organization supports stronger federal and state protections for such programs—including backing legislation like the recently introduced 340B Patients Act—especially as changes in Medicaid and health insurance marketplaces create uncertainty.
"Reforms are needed to address runaway prescription drug costs, and there is no silver bullet to fixing this issue. But as a mission-driven provider caring for patients today, Ascension is focused on maximizing the resources at our disposal so people and communities can benefit."
"While not a solution to rising drug prices, 340B is proven and effective, fulfilling its purpose of empowering safety-net hospitals to better serve their communities in ways that meet unique needs. That is why 340B deserves stronger federal and state protections, such as the recently introduced 340B Patients Act, to ensure patients will continue to reap its benefits. Especially with immense uncertainty around changes to Medicaid and the Individual Health Insurance Marketplace on the horizon, safeguarding 340B is more important than ever."
