Illinois Patients and Providers Rally in Chicago to Protect 340B Drug Pricing Program (Chicago, IL) – Patients, health care providers, community leaders, and lawmakers gathered at Chicago State University on March 1 for 340B ACTION Day, urging the Illinois House to pass HB 2371 SAM2 and strengthen protections for the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program.
The 340B program allows community health centers and safety-net hospitals to access discounted medications, supporting services ranging from cancer treatment and chronic disease management to maternal care, behavioral health, and “meds-to-beds” programs that ensure patients leave the hospital with prescriptions in hand. Advocates say it is a cornerstone of Illinois’ health care safety net.
Speakers at the rally highlighted the program’s real-world impact:
- Patients shared how discounted medications improved their health and quality of life.
- Community health center leaders described how 340B funds mobile clinics, transportation, preventive care, and other critical services.
- Hospital representatives detailed how 340B sustains trauma care, oncology services, and access in rural areas.
- Community leaders emphasized the program’s role in addressing health disparities.
- State legislators and local officials underscored the economic and public health importance of keeping care close to home.
- “340B affords me the ability to get life-sustaining medications, to have a better quality of life and a healthy life overall,” said patient Perla Herrera.
Dr. James Brooks, CEO of Lawndale Christian Health Center, noted that health centers and hospitals “all stand together and want to protect 340B,” urging House leadership to advance the legislation.
Providers warn that recent actions by pharmaceutical manufacturers restricting how and where discounted medications can be dispensed are threatening the program, forcing hospitals and clinics to make difficult choices and putting patient care at risk in urban, suburban, and rural communities.
Legislative supporters praised the Illinois Senate for advancing SB 2371 last spring, designed to prevent manufacturers from interfering with hospitals’ and clinics’ pharmacy partnerships. HB 2371 SAM2 mirrors that effort in the House.
“Access to healthcare is a human right and a civil right, and access to affordable medication is not a luxury, it’s a lifeline,” said Rep. Anna Moeller, sponsor of HB 2371. “Too many Illinois patients are being put at risk by restrictions that undermine the 340B program.”
The rally concluded with a unified call for action: advance HB 2371 SAM2, protect patient access to affordable medications, and strengthen the health care safety net across Illinois.
Organizers said rising costs and limited resources make 340B more critical than ever, and ACTION Day highlighted the program’s vital role for patients and the communities that depend on it.
Illinois Patients and Providers Rally in Chicago to Protect 340B Drug Pricing Program
