Many health care providers purchase and administer vaccines to their patients as an effective way to prevent disease in their community. Preventive therapies like vaccines are especially important for 340B covered entities, who care for the most vulnerable patient populations.
Because many vaccines are not considered covered outpatient drugs in the 340B Drug Pricing Program, they do not have a 340B price available. This means that covered entities, especially smaller covered entities, could have significant expense on vaccines without any relief in costs. To address this, the 340B Prime Vendor Program (PVP), managed by Apexus, has partnered with vaccine manufacturers and distributors to provide discounts on these valuable products—including seasonal flu vaccines—to all 340B covered entities, regardless of size.
The PVP provides discounted prices for vaccines through value-added agreements for PVP participants. Covered entities can participate in the PVP at no cost. PVP participants also receive such benefits as access to sub-340B pricing as well as access to the PVP secure website, which provides 340B pricing and reporting of entity-specific purchases and opportunities.
Vaccine prices provided through value-added agreements are available in the entity’s 340B account or non-GPO/WAC account, if applicable. Though not subject to 340B requirements, these discounted vaccines must be used on patients of the covered entity and should not be resold or redistributed outside of the covered entity’s “own use,” as defined by the US Supreme Court in the case of Portland Retail Druggist Association v. Abbott Laboratories.
PVP participants access discounted vaccine products and review available programs on the PVP secure website. The site lists all manufacturers and products on contract along with any committed or enrollment programs that are offered. The site also includes a section devoted to flu vaccine, as this is a major annual purchase for many covered entities.
To determine how to maximize savings on vaccine products, first look at your covered entity’s past 12 months of purchases of vaccine products. Next, compare those product prices to PVP prices of the same product or interchangeable products (such as comparing the various Tdap or hepatitis B vaccines). Last, determine whether standardizing to a particular product would increase your savings by qualifying for the committed programs offered. If you decide that enrolling in a PVP committed buying program will result in greater discounts, you can get enrollment information directly from the PVP’s Vaccine Resources page.
The PVP has partnered with manufacturers and wholesale distributors to offer discounted pricing on several flu vaccine products. A complete list of products available via direct ordering or through many of our 340B PVP awarded distributors is on the Vaccines page. To receive the best discounts on the seasonal flu vaccine, pre-booking is required.
To pre-book a vaccine, covered entities must predict and reserve the amount of flu vaccine doses that will be needed prior to ordering. Flu pre-booking typically occurs between January and March for the upcoming flu season in the fall of that year. Shipping generally starts in August of that year. Feel free to call the Apexus Answers call center for assistance in accessing the PVP vaccine portfolio, pre-booking information, and any other questions you may have.
Watch 340B OnDemand Module 1, “Introduction to the 340B Drug Pricing Program,” and get the basics in less than 15 minutes.