NCPA rejects ‘merger mania’

WASHINGTON - The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) supports today’s hearing examining the consolidation in the healthcare marketplace, conducted by the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law. Of particular concern: the proposed Anthem-Cigna and Aetna-Humana mergers. “Policymakers cannot allow the ‘merger mania’ gripping the nation to proceed in a way that harms patients and the community pharmacists who serve them,” said Douglas Hoey, CEO of the NCPA, in a release. “NCPA urges Congress and regulators to be wary of claims by the merging parties that consolidation will necessarily increase efficiencies and drive costs down.”