Drugmakers and hospitals are once again locked in battle.

At issue is 340B, the federal drug discount program created in the ’90s as a way to financially support hospitals treating a large percentage of low-income, uninsured patients. Those hospitals, called safety-net hospitals, receive up to 50% in discounts on pharmaceuticals, which they can sell at regular price and keep the difference to help them stay afloat.

The Health Resources and Services Administration, or HRSA, the division of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that oversees the program, has floated the idea of a rebate model in which hospitals would receive the discounts after purchasing and dispensing the drugs, rather than the current upfront model.

Hospitals say this would be financially disastrous and involve them supplying a ton of money up front, while drugmakers are all for it, arguing it’ll help cut down on waste, fraud, and abuse in the program. PhRMA, the drug industry’s top lobbying group, has alleged that in 2019, participating facilities pocketed $1.6 billion worth of duplicate discounts from 340B, citing a 2021 analysis from drug discount platform Kalderos.

Some hospitals have been accused of taking advantage of the money they save from the 340B program and using it to invest in facilities in wealthier areas rather than serving low-income communities.

Here’s the latest on 340B.—MA

AI tools like chatbots and Google’s AI Overviews are changing the way patients find health information, and health systems are taking note.

About 79% of adults in the US turn to the internet for answers to their health questions, per an April 2025 survey from the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center. Some 31% of users say AI Overviews “often” or “always” give them the answer they need.

According to OpenAI, 230+ million people across the world ask ChatGPT health and wellness questions each week. On Jan. 7, the company announced ChatGPT Health, a dedicated search engine for those queries.

OpenAI and other tech companies like Amazon One Medical and Anthropic, which have created similar tools, emphasize their programs are not designed to replace medical advice and will refer patients to medical care if needed.

But when Google gives an AI overview, organic click-through rates for search results are only 0.6%, compared to 1.6% when Google doesn’t give an AI overview, per September 2025 data from digital marketing agency Seer Interactive. This means potential patients are clicking less on healthcare providers’ websites, which “puts the primary source of [historical] new patient acquisition for health systems at risk,” Ann Bilyew, president of WebMD Ignite, a B2B growth partner for healthcare organizations, told us.

Here’s how hospitals are adapting.—CC

The White House recently rolled out TrumpRx.gov, a direct-to-consumer platform that directs users toward sites where they can buy prescription drugs like Wegovy, a weight loss medication, and Gonal-F, a fertility drug.

In a speech celebrating the launch of TrumpRx, the president promised patients they’d “save a fortune” by using it. But by the White House’s own admission, Americans who already have health coverage from the government or their employer may not find a better deal through TrumpRx.

“If you have insurance, check your co-pay first—it may be even lower,” the site states.

Given 85% of Americans already have insurance, TrumpRx isn’t currently expected to deliver meaningful cost savings for patients, save for those who are seeking certain drugs that aren’t widely covered by health plans. Here’s what HR leaders should know about the platform.

Keep reading on HR Brew.—CV

Healthcare leaders say a sharp increase in H-1B petition fees could strain staffing at a time of projected physician shortages. Here’s how hospitals and industry groups are responding.

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