What if cities and counties could provide life-saving prescription drugs — from cancer treatments and injectable epinephrine to insulin and weight-loss drugs — to un- and underinsured residents for a low cash price? What if, in doing so, they could help reinforce the social safety net in the wake of historic Medicaid cuts and prevent potentially fatal medication rationing due to cost?

Surprisingly, most of them can. All they need is a local leader willing to leverage an obscure federal drug-pricing program, called 340B, that allows safety-net health care providers — often publicly owned — to purchase prescription drugs at special low prices.

This toolkit explains how, including the underlying legal authority. The bottom line? Cheaper drugs for patients are possible for the public official who is willing to be bold.