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Senator Kohl sends cautionary letter to FTC re: Express Scripts-Medco merger

By  |  February 2, 2012

Senator Herb Kohl, chairman of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust and consumer protection, sent a cautionary letter to the FTC on the proposed Express Scripts and Medco merger.

As quoted by MarketWatch, Senator Kohl wrote, “Express Scripts’ proposed merger with Medco will unquestionably create a giant PBM [pharmacy benefits manager] that is substantially larger than any competitor, and will result in the combined entity having a dominant market share in mail order and specialty pharmacies. [. . .] It will reduce choices for PBM services to health plan sponsors, especially large employers. And it has the potential to have profound effects on the ability of both community and chain drug stores to compete.”

Senator Kohl’s letter also expressed doubts that smaller PBMs will be able to sustain competition for large plan sponsors, and that substantial cost savings will result from the merger.

Source: MarketWatch

 

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