The National Community Pharmacists Association announced on May 13 its support for the reintroduced Patients Before Monopolies Act, which would require companies that own health insurers or pharmacy benefit managers to divest their pharmacy businesses within three years. The legislation, first introduced in December 2024, is being brought forward again in both the House and Senate by a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
The proposed law seeks to address concerns about conflicts of interest created by vertically integrated pharmacy benefit managers. It would prohibit parent companies from owning both a PBM or health insurer and a pharmacy, require divestiture of pharmacy assets within one year, establish enforcement mechanisms, enable private rights of action, and prevent future reconsolidation that could recreate similar anticompetitive structures.
NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey said, “The giant corporate PBMs are trying to use smoke and mirrors to convince members of Congress and state legislators that there’s nothing wrong with their business practices. But we know better.” Hoey added: “They often steer patients away from competing pharmacies and into their chain location or their mail-order pharmacy — even if their steering has a detrimental effect on patients. They reimburse their own pharmacies higher amounts than they reimburse competing pharmacies for the same prescriptions, just one tactic that forces independent pharmacies to close and robs patients of access to care.”
Hoey continued: “PBMs have a choice — operate as a PBM or operate as a pharmacy, but you can’t have it both ways. Having both functions under one roof is a huge conflict of interest and drives up prescription drug prices. The Patients Before Monopolies Act is critical in supporting patients and independent pharmacies and restoring a free market. NCPA is proud to support it and thanks Reps. Harshbarger, Auchincloss, Landsman, Carter, Nadler, and Nehls, and Sens. Warren, Hawley, Marshall and Fetterman for their leadership.”
Founded in 1898, the National Community Pharmacists Association represents over 18,900 community pharmacies across the United States employing more than 235,000 individuals.
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