This is just one of the hundreds of unfortunate stories we?ve heard recently concerning the anticompetitive and anti-consumer effects of the CVS Caremark merger. The March 2007 combination of CVS, the nation?s largest retail pharmacy chain, and Caremark, the nation?s largest pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), has produced a virtual monopoly. The resulting company affects 134 million consumers, thousands of employers, and now has access to the business model and patient lists of their rivals, including community pharmacies. Patients are receiving unsolicited advertisements and being threatened with higher co-payments if they continue using their neighborhood independent pharmacies.
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Health Care Reform
Congressman Ike Skelton visited Red Cross Pharmacy in Odessa, MO to talk pharmacy and healthcare reform.
Average Manufacture Price (AMP)
The video clips below highlight the impact of Average Manufacture Price (AMP) on community pharmacy and our patients. The National Community Pharmacists Association is working hard to educate elected officials of the looming AMP threat and to make sure a legislative solution is passed before AMP takes effect in early 2008. These videos can be seen on Yahoo! Video, Google Video, and YouTube and are being promoted through newsletters, mobilizations, banner ads and bag stuffers.
Government program restricts patient access to health care. What this means to you and what you can do about it.
Government program restricts patient access to health care by putting providers out of business. What this means to you and what you can do about it.
