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WASHINGTON — Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are gearing up to overhaul a controversial Medicare drug discount program as soon as this quarter, a key Republican tells STAT. That’s a win for drug makers who have long pushed to narrow the scope of the so-called 340B drug discount program.

At the same time, however, the committee will also examine whether to restore a recent $1.6 billion cut to the program, which came under a Trump administration rule that took effect Jan. 1, according to committee Chairman Greg Walden of Oregon. Hospital groups have called the cut “devastating” and have lobbied Congress to reverse it.

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Walden and his Republican colleagues on the committee released a report Wednesday, based on a two-year investigation, that recommended a series of legislative and regulatory changes to the 340B program that would likely limit future participation.

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