Shawn Tester, CEO of Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital

ST. JOHNSBURY — Shawn Tester, CEO of Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital, said the 340B drug discount program was essential for rural healthcare. “Without it, you’re going to have such a gaping hole in our budgets and bottom lines. I don’t think there’s a single rural hospital that would survive,” Tester said. Proposed legislation would preserve the 340B. Sen. Peter Welch recently introduced a bill — the 340B Pharmaceutical Access To Invest in Essential, Needed Treatments & Support (PATIENTS) Act — to protect the 32-year-old program that primarily helps patients in lower income and rural communities. Meeting with local healthcare officials Thursday at NVRH, Welch said it was vital to maintain and strengthen 340B.