This Will Make You Angry

June 5, 2014 | Written by Reilly O'Neal

When President Obama and the progressives in Washington rammed Obamacare down our throats it was based on the promise (lie) that it would “fix” the problems with the American health-care system.

By now it should be obvious to everyone that the Affordable Care Act was nothing more than a government power grab designed to give more control to politicians and special interest groups in Washington at the expense of individual liberty.

The damage being caused by the government takeover of our healthcare system is so widespread that it’s hard to keep track of all the ways in which we the taxpayer are being shaken down on a daily basis.

Today, you have an opportunity to take action against one of the programs which has been used to extract legalized plunder from every American.

I’d like to introduce you to a little known program called 340B.

In 1992, a well-meaning government program (aren’t they all?) was launched in an attempt to provide medications to uninsured and low-income Americans.

Known as 340B, the program gave a limited number of qualified hospitals and pharmacies the ability to purchase RX drugs from major companies at a 20-50% discount with the intent to make these drugs available to those in need.

However, as goes with all government programs, loopholes and abuses abounded.

Over the years, the program gradually broadened but with the passing of Obamacare this program has rapidly expanded into a government cash cow which hospitals and pharmacies have learned to exploit.

The original legislation envisioned that only about 90 hospitals around the country that care for a disproportionate share of indigent patients would qualify.

But despite all the abuse of 340B the federal government has aggressively expanded the program as they do with all programs which doll out taxpayer dollars hand over fist.

The list of “qualified” hospitals and pharmacies has now exploded to over 1,675 facilities (a third of all the hospitals in the country).

So what’s the scam you might ask?

Well, instead of passing along the discount to the patient, these hospitals have profited wildly by purchasing RX drugs at a steep discount and then turning around a billing Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance for the full price, pocketing the difference.

All at the expense of you, the taxpayer.

Here in North Carolina alone, Duke University Hospital bought $54.8 million in drugs from the discount program and sold them to patients (via Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance) for $131.8 million, for a profit of $76.9 million—a substantial portion of the health system’s 2011 operating profit of $190 million.

If just one hospital can pocket nearly $80 million from taxpayers, imagine the reach nationwide.

Something must be done.

I need your help today to make sure Congresswoman Renee Ellmers (NC), a member of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, has heard from you on this issue.

You see, Congresswoman Ellmers is in a unique position to take action on the abuse of 340B and put in place oversight that will stop the extraction of wealth from the American people through yet another government program.

But she needs to hear from you today.

I’m asking you to use your social media pages, using #340B, to draw attention to this issue over the next 48 hours.

Help send the message to Rep. Ellmers that we demand reform of 340B.

Rep. Ellmer’s staff is monitoring the web and you can be sure that the only thing that will make politicians take action is public pressure.

So please, take a few minutes to send out a tweet, write a blog post, write a letter to the editor or to Rep. Ellmers office, and demand that she take action to put a stop this abuse.

Thank you for your activism!

For Liberty,

Reilly O’Neal
Husband / Father
Conservative Activist
Fmr. Campaign Manager Brannon 14′
Follow me on Twitter @reillyoneal

P.S. You can find out more about the 340B program by visiting the links below.

Forbes: Drug Discount Program Drives up Costs

Tea Party Nation: CVS Feeds at Federal Trough

Daily Caller: Another Federal Healthcare Scheme That Fails Most Vulnerable

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