Last week, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights held a hearing titled, “Strengthening U.S. Economic Leadership: The Role of Competition in Enhancing Economic Resiliency,” focused on the concerns with how consolidation in the market is leading to fewer choices and higher prices for American citizens.
Chair Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) highlighted the impact of the consolidation of the supply chain on medical supplies and generic prescription drugs, as well as how consolidation allows for catastrophic cyber-attacks such as the one on Change Healthcare earlier this year. She referred to NCPA’s survey of members earlier this year which showed a third of respondents are worried about going out of business this year and she called for additional bills or government regulation that would stop harmful consolidation.
Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) also highlighted the necessary healthcare services local pharmacies provide and how he lost his local pharmacy to consolidation. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) also discussed that incentives change for PBMs when they are vertically integrated with pharmacies. Professor Brown in her testimony specifically called out the challenges in the health care marketplace in relation to consolidation, highlighting policies that would halt PBMs from owning pharmacies, and price and ownership transparency. She spoke to the challenges that independent pharmacies are facing in today’s market and the loss of health care access patients face when independents close.
If you would like to watch the hearing or read the panelists’ testimony you can find that here.
