LTC Pharmacy Group Applauds House Energy and Commerce Committee Initiative to Review PBM Mergers

DATE: July 30, 2018

Washington, DC — The Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition (SCPC) today thanked House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and key sub-committee Chairs Gregg Harper (R-MS) and Michael Burgess (R-TX) for sending a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) calling for a retrospective review of pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) mergers.

“SCPC thanks Chairman Walden and Reps. Harper and Burgess for asking the FTC to better understand how PBM mergers and the rapid pace of consolidation is affecting both consumer drug prices and the health care marketplace more broadly,” said Alan G. Rosenbloom, President and CEO of SCPC, the only federal advocacy organization devoted exclusively to the interests of the nation’s long-term care (LTC) pharmacies and the patients they serve.

“We maintain PBM mergers and acquisitions, rapid vertical and horizontal integration, and stubborn adherence to opaque business practices threatens patients in LTC settings, undermines the nation’s commitment to free and fair markets, and ultimately places LTC pharmacies at a competitive disadvantage,” Rosenbloom observed. “This new letter to the FTC is timely and warranted.”

Rosenbloom said just three PBMs already administer more than 90% of prescriptions dispensed to seniors in the nation’s LTC facilities — and now two of these companies may soon be ancillary parts of large national health insurance companies. “More broadly, the proposed CVS Health-Aetna merger requires far more scrutiny as it is emblematic of the growing arms race to consolidate and control elderly consumers’ access to prescription drugs,” he continued.

LTC pharmacies, a distinct subset within the pharmacy community, serve a specialized population of seniors in skilled nursing centers, assisted living facilities and other residential care settings. The typical patient suffers from multiple chronic conditions, significant impairments in daily living activities, mild to moderate dementia, and takes 12-13 prescription medications daily – making drug prices and access to needed medications an essential variable in maintaining vulnerable seniors’ health and well-being.

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The Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition (SCPC) is the only national organization exclusively representing the interests of LTC pharmacies. Its members operate in all 50 states and serve 750,000 patients daily in skilled nursing and assisted living facilities across the country. Visit seniorcarepharmacies.org to learn more.