Co-owner of Remington Drug Company in Remington, Va., Al Roberts, welcomed Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson for a pharmacy visit Friday to illustrate the challenges posed by pharmacy benefit managers and emphasize the significant role independent pharmacies play in their communities. Roberts (who co-owns Remington Drug Company with Travis Hale) explained to Ferguson how the penny-pinching PBMs make it harder for them to serve their patients.
Ferguson was joined by NCPA CEO Doug Hoey, NCPA General Counsel Matt Seiler, Anne Cassity, senior vice president of government affairs, and John Beckner, NCPA's director of strategic initiatives. The visit is the latest among dozens every year that NCPA organizes to bring federal decisions, including members of Congress and administration officials, into independent pharmacies so they can see with their own eyes the challenges that our members face.
This visit is especially well-timed as the FTC is currently investigating the PBMs for potential anti-trust violations, and last year it issued two scalding interim reports exposing their most egregious practices.
Ferguson was one of four commissioners who voted in favor of issuing the agency's first interim staff report on PBM practices. 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." And NCPA is committed to helping him and his colleagues learn everything they need to know about how PBMs are unfairly harming independent pharmacies and their patients.
