REMINGTON, Va. (March 7, 2025) – The owners of Remington Drug Company in Remington, Va.—Al Roberts and Travis Hale—hosted Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson for a pharmacy visit today to illustrate the challenges posed by pharmacy benefit managers and emphasize the significant role independent pharmacies play in their communities. Also present were: NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey, pharmacist, MBA; Matthew Seiler, its general counsel; and Anne Cassity, senior vice president of government affairs.
Ferguson joined the FTC last spring and was officially designated as chair in January by President Donald Trump, succeeding Lina Khan. During its ongoing inquiry into PBMs launched in 2022, the FTC received more than 24,000 comments from the public—including independent pharmacists—about anticompetitive contracts and how PBM practices affect consumers.
"We're grateful to Chair Ferguson for taking the time to visit Remington Drug Company and see firsthand the effects of PBM manipulations like low reimbursements and anticompetitive take-it-or-leave-it contracting practices,” said Hoey. "While these tactics may benefit the massive middlemen and their shareholders, closures of independent pharmacies have averaged more than one a day over the last two years. Every time one closes, the health of people in that pharmacy's community is jeopardized. And, the FTC's reports show that consumers and taxpayers are paying billions of dollars more for prescription than they should. We're encouraged that the FTC is continuing its investigation into PBMs under the chair's leadership and continue urging both regulators and legislators for swift relief.”
Ferguson was one of four commissioners who voted in favor of issuing the agency's first interim staff report on PBM practices' negative impacts on consumers and patients. The commission voted 5-0 to allow staff to issue the second report in January, and in a concurrent statement about it, he said, "The commission still has more work to do on this Section 6(b) study. I remain committed to bringing it to a conclusion, culminating in a final report."
For more information about NCPA, please visit www.ncpa.org.
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