Bonner General Health: Good Stewardship of the 340B Program

Bonner General Health’s mission is “To improve health, inspire hope and save lives”.

Bonner General  Hospital is a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital (CAH) which includes a healthcare network of outpatient  clinics and services serving Sandpoint, all of Bonner County, and the surrounding region. CAHs are an  essential part of rural communities. Bonner General is often the only source of health care in our vulnerable  community and serves a crucial safety net role for the elderly, low- income, uninsured, and other  underserved populations, many of whom may face financial and/or travel barriers that restrict their ability  to seek care outside our community. Because of our Critical Access designation, Bonner General is eligible  to participate in the 340B Program. 

Definition of 340B

The 340B Drug Pricing Program is a federal program created in 1992 that requires drug manufacturers participating in the Medicaid drug rebate program to provide covered outpatient drugs to enrolled participants at a significant discount. The purpose of the 340B Program is to permit participants to stretch scarce federal resources as far as possible, reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive services.
This program is provided without cost to the taxpayer.

Benefits of the 340B Program

Bonner General uses savings from the 340B Drug Program to help provide a variety of services to  help care for the most at risk in our community. 340B savings also support Bonner General Health’s ability  to provide services to under-and uninsured patients, regardless of their ability to pay. We use 340B savings  to keep our doors open so we can continue to provide vital services to our community. In 2020 we were  able to add Ophthalmology and Family Practice clinics to our list of existing services, which include an  Emergency Department (level 3 trauma center), Hospice, Intensive Behavioral Therapy, Acute Care Unit,  Intensive Care Unit, Obstetrics Unit, Women’s Health, Infusion and Procedures Clinic, Immediate Care and  Surgical Services, among others. 

Bonner General Health conducted a Community Health Needs Assessment between May and September  of 2022 for the approximately 49, 491 residents of Bonner County. Our 2022 Community Needs  Assessment identified several areas of need. Bonner General is committed to working with existing  community organizations to meet the healthcare needs of our community. Some services Bonner General  currently provided include:

Bonner General Health 

  • Behavioral Health Clinic 
  • Better Breathers Club 
  • Diabetes Education 
  • Emergency Department 
  • Family Practice (Primary Care) 
  • Grief & Support Groups through Hospice 
  • Immediate Care Clinic 
  • Ophthalmology 
  • Orthopedics 
  • Rock Steady Boxing
  • Sandpoint Women’s Health

Impact of Scaling Back the 340B Program

Each year new legislation is introduced that if passed and enacted would threaten the 340B  Program and its original intent. Scaling back the 340B Program would jeopardize Bonner General Health’s  capacity to offer a variety of free services to our patients. Like other similar hospitals and healthcare  networks, 340B savings are vital to the continuum of care we offer our community. Bonner General is an  active advocate for the preservation of the 340B Program and is committed to transparency, integrity,  and compliance.  

340B by the Numbers

340B Annual Savings 2022 $915,958 

Charity Care 2022 $451,224.00 

Uncompensated Care 2022 $3,567,143.00