An Elon Musk-backed group, Building America’s Future, is running attack ads against Republican lawmakers in multiple states over their support of the 340B drug pricing program. The 340B program, requires drug companies to give discounts to hospitals treating low-income patients.
The 340B program, created to help hospitals serving uninsured and low-income patients, has been a long-running battleground between hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. Hospitals argue that the program is essential to providing affordable care, while drug manufacturers claim it forces them to sell medications at a loss.
The video ads, titled “Trump underminers,” have been aired in Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Kentucky, reported Associated Press. They claim that some Republicans are expanding the 340B program, which they allege funds gender transitions for children, abortions, and healthcare for undocumented immigrants. It says it “is now a disaster” and to “let Trump fix 340B.”
North Dakota Rep. Jon Nelson dismissed the ad’s message claiming that drug companies want to eliminate the program because it forces them to sell at a discount.
Lawmakers insist that there is no active movement to expand the 340B program. Kentucky State Sen. Stephen Meredith clarified that his legislation is not about 340B expansion but about protecting rural healthcare providers from discrimination by pharmaceutical manufacturers.
The ads have aired on television in multiple states, and the group also ran messages in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania in past elections. The group previously funded campaigns that targeted Vice President Kamala Harris over her stance on Israel.
In February, the group posted a photo on X (formerly Twitter) of a truck parked outside the North Dakota Capitol, displaying messages claiming 340B subsidises gender transitions for kids. However, North Dakota banned gender-affirming care for minors in 2023.