2009 Press Releases
Momentum Continues to Build for FTC to Stop CVS Caremark Abuses
Alexandria, Va. - July 31, 2009
Two groups of U.S. Senators recently sent letters to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) urging a thorough review of CVS Caremark’s anti-competitive and anti-privacy business practices since their merger. The letter from Sens. Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Roger Wicker (R-MS)—Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance—focused on complaints from their constituents as the impetus for action; while the letter from Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Russell Feingold (D-WI), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) centered on affect the merger is having on independent community pharmacies. In response, National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) Executive Vice President and CEO, Bruce T. Roberts, RPh, issued the following statement:
“The key to a thriving free marketplace is competition on a level playing field. Before the merger was approved, company officials pledged to be 'agnostic as to where the consumer fills their prescription.' Their actions tell a different story. Patients complain of higher prices, coercive marketing tactics and privacy violations. That’s why it is so encouraging to see these Senators step up for patients and ask the FTC to exercise its investigative and regulatory powers.
The Pryor and Wicker letter is available for download.
“While CVS Caremark contends that the two giant corporations don’t share information, the evidence is overwhelming. Either an extraordinary set of inadvertent coincidences have been occurring around the country, or the agreed-upon firewalls are being breached between the giant PBM and chain drug store. We hope the Senators’ letters will serve as the additional push needed for the FTC to set things right.”
The Dorgan, Feingold, and Klobuchar letter is available for download.
The National Community Pharmacists Association, founded in 1898, represents the nation’s community pharmacists, including the owners of more than 23,000 pharmacies. The nation’s independent pharmacies, independent pharmacy franchises, and independent chains dispense nearly half of the nation's retail prescription medicines. To learn more go to the NCPA Web site.