Lies, Damned Lies, and 340B Matters Lies

By: Marcus J. Hopkins, Health Policy Lead Consultant, ADAP Advocacy

The 340B reform denialists, in chorus, obfuscate the truth: namely, that the 340B Drug Pricing Program is doing "just fine" and needs no changes, no matter how big or small. In a recent social media post, an organization that professes to care about patients, “340B Matters”, posted the following on X:

Welcome to Friday Pharma Lies, a series debunking the drug industry’s falsehoods about the 340B Program.

Lie: 340B discounts are supposed to be passed along to patients.

Truth: Congress created 340B “to stretch scarce federal resources as far as possible, reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive services.” Accordingly, covered entities use 340B to fund safety net healthcare services they otherwise could not afford to offer. Many covered entities use 340B discounts to connect patients with discounted drugs, but there is no requirement for them to do so (Figure 1; 340B Matters, 2026).

Figure 1 – 340B Matters Social Media Post

Photo Source: 340B Matters

This post, while technically accurate, is arguably one of the most craven positions one can take on the sprawling, virtually unregulated funding mechanism we call the 340B Program.

Moreover, it is a position being taken by an “org” that is almost entirely devoid of information about who they are.

When looking into the history of 340B Matters, what ADAP Advocacy was able to find was the following:

1. 340B Matters is not, according to the federal government, a 501(c) non-profit organization. While this is not, in and of itself, illegal, the “.org” URL domain was originally intended for non-commercial ventures and organizations. As such, when a website is created using the “.org” extension, the safe assumption is that the website one is visiting is that of a non-profit or charitable organization. Instead, the website is owned by Han Kingler, a partner at the lobbying firm Black Diamond Strategies, who, according to the 340B Matters website’s privacy policy, serves as the Executive Director of the organization (340B Matters, 2016).
2. In addition to not being a registered non-profit, 340B Matters is “proudly sponsored” by The Craneware Group, a for-profit organization that specializes in “340B solutions”—a fanciful way of saying, “Maximizing 340B revenues for providers and increasing profits” (The Craneware Group, 2026). This, of course, runs counter to the 340B Matters tagline, “Patients Over Profits. The Craneware Group, while legally domiciled in Scotland, has a U.S. headquarters in Deerfield Beach, FL, part of the greater Boca Raton/Ft. Lauderdale area. The “solutions” they offer are software-based applications that focus on maximizing profits and decreasing overhead costs, including margins, revenues, and workforce.
3. 340B Matters obfuscates its ownership and operational team by creating a “Who We Are” page that provides the following explanation of the organization: “340B Matters seeks to protect this vital program for nonprofit healthcare facilities from those that would severely restrict access to the 340B program. We support patients over profits” (340B Matters, 2025). This page includes no information about who founded the organization, whether the organization has a Board of Directors, nor mentions any employees, contractors, or executive leadership. Nor does their website indicate that any healthcare providers or patient advocacy groups are affiliated with 340B Matters.

Essentially, what ADAP Advocacy found is that every aspect of the 340B Matters “organization” operates for one purpose:

To continue the unchecked growth of the 340B program. That explosive growth is concerning because it hasn't alleviated the medical debt crisis in this country, but also because it sets the stage for a program that is too big to fail.

Photo Source: ADAP Advocacy

Again, the aforementioned social media post is technically correct: there is no statutory obligation for 340B covered entities to provide discounted medications to the patients they purport to serve.

And this is just one of myriad problems with the 340B Program.

The program was designed to ensure that patients who could otherwise neither access nor afford healthcare services, particularly those living with HIV/AIDS, hemophilia, and Black Lung disease.

What it has become, however, is a revenue cash cow for unscrupulous hospitals, Federally-Qualified Health Centers, and other covered entities that, because of the fact that there are virtually no rules or enforcement mechanisms for the 340B Program itself, are able to get away with misappropriating 340B funds to support various endeavors that run counter to the statute’s intended purposes, including (but not limited to):

1. The inflation of executive compensation packages, as documented on 340bmap.org
2. The building, renovation, or upgrading of facilities in ways that do not improve access to healthcare services (e.g., adding water and other decorative features to existing hospitals)
3. The opening of new facilities or purchase of practices in higher-income areas that will generate greater revenue while simultaneously shuttering existing facilities and practices in lower-income areas
4. And not to mention, subsidizing a college football coach's salary, or funding electoral ballot initiatives, or purchasing private learjets

Photo Source: ADAP Advocacy

“Organizations” such as 340B Matters create content that is designed to make it seem that pharmaceutical companies and proponents of 340B reform are attempting to shut down healthcare facilities by taking away 340B revenues. They develop content like this to make it seem that only one side of the equation—the side of those who actually provide the 340B revenues to them in order to continue offering the medications through Medicare markets—are attempting to cut off your healthcare services just to make a profit.

What they consistently fail to mention is that, aside from AIDS Drug Assistance Programs and hemophilia clinics, 340B covered entities are not required to provide any transparency about the amount of their annual revenues the 340B Program accounts for, how those revenues are spent, or whether or not lower-income patients actually benefit from those revenues in any appreciable manner.

Disclaimer: All of the funders of the ADAP Advocacy Association are publicly available online at https://www.adapadvocacy.org/support.html. 

Disclaimer: Guest blogs do not necessarily reflect the views of the ADAP Advocacy Association; rather, they provide a neutral platform for the author to promote open, honest discussion of public health-related issues and updates.

References:

[1] 340B Matters. (2016, June 01). Privacy policy. 340B Matters. https://340bmatters.org/Privacy-Policy/

[2] 340B Matters. (2025). Who we are. 340B Matters. https://340bmatters.org/who-are-we/

[3] 340B Matters. (2026, March 20). Welcome to Friday Pharma Lies, a series debunking the drug industry’s falsehoods about the 340B Program. Lie: 340B discounts are [Image attached] [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AwvuRMx8R/

[4] The Craneware Group. (2026). Our Story. Deerfield Beach, FL: The Craneware Group: