S-4390.1
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5981
State of Washington
69th Legislature
2026 Regular Session
By Senate Health & Long-Term Care (originally sponsored by Senators Cleveland, Slatter, Harris, Bateman, Alvarado, Chapman, Dhingra, Frame, Hasegawa, Liias, Pedersen, Saldaña, and Valdez)
READ FIRST TIME 01/28/26.
AN ACT Relating to protecting patient access to discounted medications and health care services through Washington's health care safety net by preventing manufacturer limitations on the 340B drug pricing program; amending RCW 43.71C.100 ; adding a new chapter to Title 69 RCW; and prescribing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that the federal 340B drug pricing program is essential for providing health care access to low-income and uninsured populations. The 340B drug pricing program requires drug manufacturers to offer discounts on outpatient medications to eligible providers that serve these populations. They include federally qualified health centers, Ryan White (HIV) clinics, tribal and urban Indian health centers, critical access hospitals, and other safety net hospitals that meet stringent federal criteria.
(2) Congress created the 340B drug pricing program in 1992, stating that the program's benefits enable covered "entities to stretch scarce federal resources as far as possible, reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive services." (H.R. Rep. No. 102-384 (II), at 12 (1992)). The 340B drug pricing program allows certain safety net providers to sustain underfunded services and reinvest savings into essential community benefits, such as financial assistance for low-income patients, no-cost wellness visits, screenings, vaccinations, transportation to appointments, health education classes, case management, medication adherence services, and workforce development programs.