Remembering a 340B Legend Who Will Not Be Forgotten
Written by: Ted Slafsky
Soon after President George H.W. Bush signed the 340B law in November 1992, 10 hospital pharmacy directors from across the country gathered at a Holiday Inn near the Dallas airport to figure out how to implement this new federal drug discount program. The group had various life experiences, but shared a passion for taking care of patients, regardless of their ability to pay. The pharmacists knew the importance of affordable medications for their patients—many of whom were uninsured, underinsured or Medicaid recipients. They were also proud of their health systems, which played critical roles in their communities, and understood that this fledgling program might help their hospitals stay open or provide and expand essential services, despite enormous financial challenges.
Standing Out from the Crowd
One of those pharmacy directors was Andrew “Andy” Lowe, a 1987 PharmD graduate of the University of California School of Pharmacy in San Francisco. Tall and rugged, with a bushy beard and a slight Eastern European accent, Andy, the director of pharmacy at San Bernardino County Medical Center—a public hospital in Colton, California, now known as Arrowhead Regional Medical Center—stood out among this group of distinguished leaders.
The hospital system—located in Southern California’s Inland Empire Region about 60 miles from Los Angeles—continues to serve as the safety-net provider for the diverse county. And Andy continued to work there, running the pharmacy residency program, until he passed away in June.
A Consequential Meeting
At the Dallas meeting, Andy, the other nine pharmacists and a young attorney, who helped draft and advocate for the 340B law—Bill von Oehsen—crafted a plan to educate the drug industry and government about the new 340B law. Surprisingly, many drug industry stakeholders were not aware of the program or realize they had to start complying with the law. In addition, the federal agency tasked with overseeing the program faced a steep learning curve with little experience with pharmacy care and drug discounts.
The group not only developed a plan for getting the 340B program off the ground, they also formed the trade group 340B Health—an organization which I helped lead for over 22 years and continues to be an influential force. Andy, who served on 340B Health’s board for many years, could always be counted on to trek from his local airport in Ontario, California to Washington, D.C. to attend every board meeting and lobby day to advocate for the 340B program. Andy, a consultant for one of the first pharmacy service and management companies in the 340B space, was incredibly generous with his time and his 340B knowledge was unsurpassed.
He was also a compassionate clinician, teacher and mentor. Andy taught pharmacology at several different physician assistant programs and was a frequent guest lecturer and keynote speaker at medical schools, pharmacy schools and conferences. He told me that the parts of his job he loved most were going on hospital rounds and running the hospital’s pain management clinic to ensure his patients were as comfortable as possible, while being treated in a responsible manner.
Overcoming Adversity
Born in Bucharest, Romania, during the Soviet empire in 1954, Lowe’s personal journey is also incredibly compelling. His apartment was often bugged, and his father, Gyuri—a film director—was censored and could not perform his craft. Andy’s mother Judith—an internist—could not practice medicine in Bucharest and had to travel far away from home to serve patients. It did not help that Andy and his family were Jewish and faced intense surveillance by Nicolae Ceaușescu’s secret police as they hollowed out Romania’s Jewish population. As Andy recounted to his daughter, Lydia: “You would be talking to a friend one day, and the next day he or she would disappear.”
Like other Romanian teenagers and young adults, he was forced to join Romania’s communist youth party. Fortunately, at the age of 16, he and his parents immigrated to the United States, moving to Los Angeles, where he eventually received his undergraduate degree from the University of California Los Angeles.
Since memorializing Andy in a LinkedIn remembrance, I have been struck by how many people he touched, including students, colleagues and peers throughout the country. I was lucky enough to have a long-time friendship with Andy, including always having dinner with him when he visited Washington or at various conferences and meetings throughout the U.S.
We often talked about our families, and I was impressed that both his wife, Anne, a labor and delivery nurse, and his daughter, Lydia, an aspiring physician, work at Arrowhead.
340B Leaders Not Forgotten
The past year has been tough for 340B veterans, like me. Not only did we lose Andy but also Sue Veer, of Carolinas Health Care—an innovative South Carolina health center; Bill Wood, of University of Utah Hospital and Visante; and, more recently, Ryan Olivier, who worked for various South Dakota health systems. All these individuals were passionate advocates for the 340B program and regularly talked to policymakers about its importance.
Fortunately, each of these amazing humans left behind an incredible legacy and will remain an inspiration to us all.
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