NCPA president discusses impact of M&A with FTC
By HME News Staff
Updated 10:30 AM CDT, Wed April 20, 2022
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – National Community Pharmacists Association President Michele Belcher participated in a recent Federal Trade Commission-Department of Justice online listening forum on the effects of mergers and acquisitions. Belcher, who is owner of Grants Pass Pharmacy in Grants Pass, Ore., described to FTC Chair Lina M. Khan, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter and others how the take-it-or-leave-it contracts between pharmacy benefit managers and independent pharmacies lead to harms including higher costs and restricted access to care. “As a small business owner and an advocate for my patients, I can say with certainty that vertical consolidation in our industry has limited access to care, stifled innovation, and increased prices for consumers,” Belcher wrote in her prepared comments. “I hope that you will see that our industry is in desperate need of regulatory oversight and that without it, small businesses will continue to be put out of business and consumers will be harmed.” This health care-focused forum is part of a series centering on industries and labor markets that are commonly affected by mergers that may reduce competition.
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