Alexandria, VA (February 11, 2022) – The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), which in two separate letters called on the FTC to investigate PBMs, today hailed a move by chairwoman Lina Khan to call for a vote to launch a formal study.
“This is a massively significant development for independent pharmacy,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey. “Pharmacy benefit managers are the most secretive actors in the healthcare sector, and they’ve escaped scrutiny for a far too long. We are grateful to chairwoman Lina Khan for listening to our concerns, and we strongly urge the commissioners to approve this study.”
The Commission is scheduled to vote on February 17 on whether to make PBMs hand over information on contracts, reimbursements, “and other practices affecting drug prices, including those practices that may disadvantage independent or specialty pharmacies.”
“It is extremely encouraging that the FTC is focused specifically on how PBM practices affect independent pharmacies,” said Hoey. “That’s a real breakthrough. We’ve been working for a long time to convince the FTC and other agencies that the PBMs are behaving like monopolies and crushing independent pharmacies. The study they’re considering next week will bring it all out into view for the agency, and we’re hopeful that will lead to significant changes in enforcement, promote competition, and protect patients.”
To read NCPA’s letters to the FTC and its previous statements, click here. To learn more about NCPA, please visit www.ncpa.org.
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Founded in 1898, the National Community Pharmacists Association is the voice for the community pharmacist, representing nearly 19,400 pharmacies that employ approximately 215,000 individuals nationwide. Community pharmacies are rooted in the communities where they are located and are among America’s most accessible health care providers. To learn more, visit www.ncpa.org.
