In 2005, Dorian experienced a series of illnesses and was diagnosed with AIDS. He was self-employed and luckily had health insurance. “I was going to be OK, right?”

The answer came the following year when Dorian received a letter from his health insurer rescinding coverage. He sought legal and health advice at the NO/AIDS Task Force, which later became CrescentCare. “I learned I could receive my care there and get not just my clinical care, but also wrap-around services,” Dorian recalls. His medication has a sticker price of $2,300 per month. Dorian pays no out of pocket cost. “That one bottle saves my life.”

Dorian got more involved and learned that CrescentCare receives 340B discounts on medications through the federal Ryan White program. 340B savings have allowed the community health center to nearly double its client population. Eighty-one percent of its patients with HIV/AIDS have achieved the optimal suppression of the virus in their bodies.

“The goal of HIV care is to have the virus become undetectable,” explains Dorian. “I plan to live a long life.”

Dorian has since become an AIDS activist and radio host.  He credits the 340B program with helping CrescentCare deliver vital medical care when he needed it most.

Guadalupe Mendoza discovered she had stage-4 breast cancer in 2008. The disease had quietly spread to her bones and liver before she knew something was wrong.  Uninsured, she quickly spent all her savings on medical care – including a double mastectomy.

She turned around thanks to Glendale Adventist Medical Center. Thanks to 340B and the hospital’s first-rate care, Guadalupe received chemotherapy infusions for free until she could get enrolled in Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, with the help of the hospital’s staff.

She will have to be on chemo for the rest of her life, but Mendoza stays optimistic and works to help other cancer patients at the hospital.

“So far I’m doing really, really good,” Mendoza says.  “I’m in remission now and I work part time. The 340B program made a big difference for me.”

Lonnie Mikes has had diabetes his entire adult life. He’s kept it in check with diet, exercise, and medications he takes daily. Everything was fine until his wife Nancy suffered a heart attack in 2009. The couple found themselves $50,000 in debt because she was without health insurance.

Nancy recovered, but the Mikes have been trying to crawl out of debt ever since. Now retired and on Medicare, Lonnie went to the drugstore recently to pick up their combined medications. He was stunned to find out a 90-day supply of meds cost almost $600 in co-pays. The couple’s health care expenses already eat up almost half of their monthly Social Security income.

“I was frustrated,” says Lonnie. He complained to his daughter Tricia about the co-pay problem and got an unexpected answer: “Has anyone told you about the 340B program?”

It turns out Tricia is an administrator at Northwest Health Services in St. Joseph. The community health center participates in 340B, as does the center where Lonnie gets his care. Tricia contacted her father’s doctor and alerted him to the situation. Now Lonnie receives a 90-day supply of insulin and two other medications for a copay of just $42.

“For folks on Social Security and no other income, this program is life-changing,” Lonnie says.

Lamar Williams was experiencing the first of what would be a series of heart attacks when he arrived at the emergency room in February 2009.  “I told them I was having chest pains, I don’t have any insurance and I need to see someone,” he recalls.

Baptist Medical Center doctors sprang into action and Lamar received a coronary artery stent and treatment for hypertension and Type 2 diabetes. Much to Williams’ relief, the cost of the treatment was covered by the hospital as part of its charity care mission.

After his third cardiac episode, Williams enrolled in Baptist Health’s CareAdvisor program in 2010, which is funded in part by 340B. CareAdvisor is designed to give uninsured outpatients a medical home base and includes a primary care doctor, bus passes, medications, a nurse case manager and a social worker for each patient, all for free.

As a result, Lamar is now a healthier man. “[340B] has helped me tremendously,” he says. “It helped save my life.”

When Central Pennsylvania families need help—feeding newborns, planning families, teaching teens about sexual health, detecting cancer or preventing sexually transmitted infections—they turn to the Family Health Council of Central Pennsylvania.

Taisha Garcia, Title X Program Director at FHCCP, knows firsthand the impact their providers can have on communities, and the important role 340B plays in making that possible.

“We act as a frontline of sexual health and education for everyone in our communities, but not everyone in our communities can afford the full cost of care. 340B helps keep our providers from being spread too thin.” said Garcia.

Currently, over 90 percent of the providers in FHCCP’s network participate in the 340B program, which Garcia says they use to buy long acting reversible contraceptives like intra-uterine devices (IUDs) at a discount. IUDs are the most effective form of birth control, but they carry high up-front costs. 340B pricing allows family planning providers to give patients a wide range of contraceptives to choose from.

“All patients, regardless of income, insurance status, and age should be able to choose a contraceptive that works best for their lifestyle and needs,” said Garcia.

But the benefit of the 340B program doesn’t end there. 340B savings have also been used to hire more clinical staff, upgrade facilities and increase outreach and education to more clients.

“Many providers in our network would be unable to provide high quality family planning to our patients without 340B. Our communities rely on this program.”