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ARLINGTON, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) continues to call for an all-levels, all-branches of government approach to pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform, urging action without delay.
NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson submitted a video statement for a January 14 open meeting of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The statement relates to the FTC’s consideration of issuing a second interim staff report highlighting additional staff findings from the FTC’s 6(b) study on the contracting practices of PBMs.
The FTC’s first interim staff report — released in July 2024 — found that “PBMs wield enormous power over patients’ ability to access and afford their prescription drugs, allowing PBMs to significantly influence what drugs are available and at what price.” Further, the FTC described PBM tactics as “imposing unfair, arbitrary, and harmful contractual terms on pharmacies” with devastating effects on pharmacies and on communities.
READ THE JULY 2024 FTC INTERIM STAFF REPORT
The full transcript of Anderson’s January 2025 video statement is below:
[NACDS urges] the FTC to press on. Bring to light your full findings of PBM tactics.
NACDS commends the FTC for its first interim staff report.
It validated concerns of NACDS members with as few as four pharmacies, and those serving Americans nationwide.
That report said market-dominant PBMs wield enormous power over what drugs are available to patients – and at what price. And they impose unfair, arbitrary, and harmful contracts on pharmacies.
Continuing to shine the light will bring into full focus the picture of PBM tactics that inflate Americans’ costs; force pharmacies out of business; and make healthcare more remote.The FTC’s work and PBM reform transcend politics, because this matters to all Americans:
- House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer praised the FTC’s action amid that panel’s own investigation.
- The Biden Administration emphasized PBM reform in a compelling White House event.
- And last month, in two national media statements in one week, President-elect Trump called out the middlemen’s tactics as a key focus of reform.
As the FTC presses on, NACDS urges Congress to pass its broadly-supported reforms – to address the needs that already have become obvious.
The states also must continue to legislate, implement, and enforce reforms.
Thank you. Keep confronting anti-competitiveness that harms Americans and their pharmacies.
