Astoria residents condemn pharmacy merger
Posted on January 5, 2012 by Rebecca Henely in Assembly, District 36
ssemblywoman Aravella Simotas (c.) and neighbors gather in front of Astoria's Titan Pharmacy to protest the proposed merger of Medco and Express Scripts. She was joined by Astoria District Leader Costa Constantinides (second from l.). Photo by Rebecca Henely
State Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas (D-Astoria) held a recent rally attended by about 30 people at an Astoria pharmacy to protest a proposed merger between two pharmacy benefit management companies, saying the plan would be a detriment to local businesses.
“They can put pharmacies out of business,” Simotas said about the possible combination of the two companies.
Pharmaceutical benefit management companies act as a third party between pharmaceutical firms and patients in managing prescription drug plans. Some services they provide include processing and paying claims, managing which drugs are covered by which plans and negotiating discounts and rebates. Many of their services on the consumer end are done through mail order.
Recently two of the three major pharmaceutical benefit management companies — the Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based Medco Health Solutions and the St. Louis-based Express Scripts — have been making their case to merge into one entity before the U.S. Congress and the Federal Trade Commission.
While there are many smaller such companies, the merger would leave the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based CVS Caremark as the only other major company.
“These three PBMs do the same thing, so eliminating one of them eliminates competition,” Simotas said.
Simotas held the rally Dec. 22 after approaching Peter Levis and George Rontiris, the owners of Titan Pharmacy, at 35-19 31st Ave. in Astoria, who had worked with the assemblywoman on previous issues regarding pharmaceutical benefit management companies.
Rontiris said these companies are usually associated with national pharmacy chains, and some medications can only be gotten through such companies, putting small, local pharmacies at an unfair advantage.
“Their purpose was to save taxpayers money and reduce the costs of prescription drugs,” Simotas said. “Really, they’re playing monopoly? with health care.”
Rontiris said he believed the merger would increase the companies’ ability to push expensive rates and take tax money out of New York state.
Astoria District Leader Costa Constantinides said his wife, Lori, needs to use pharmaceutical benefit management companies for the anti-rejection drugs prescribed for her kidney and pancreas transplants. He said the two of them have had problems with the delivery of the drugs through the companies and would prefer to go through local pharmacies if they had the option.
“No one who this merger is going to touch is going to benefit,” Constantinides said.
Combining Express Scripts and Medco is an opportunity for two leading pharmacy benefit managers to apply private-sector know-how to solve our country’s biggest healthcare challenge: lowering cost while raising quality.
By joining complementary strengths, the merger will benefit patients, employers and managed care plans, leading to safer and more affordable medicines.
PBMs play a central role in healthcare. We drive out fraud, waste and abuse while lowering costs and improving health outcomes. We increase adherence to prescribed medicines, identify and correct prescription errors, and promote cost-effective delivery. Our efforts save billions of dollars and extend millions of lives. In New York alone over the next decade, PBMs will produce $86.1 billion in savings for employer plans plus $49.2 billion for Medicare Part D, according to the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association.
By lowering healthcare costs for employers, we help boost employment and preserve employee benefits.
Neighborhood pharmacies have been and always will be essential partners in advancing our mission. More than 60,000 pharmacies of all sizes participate in our retail network, including 90 percent of all independent pharmacies. And contrary to a quote in your article, neither Express Scripts nor Medco is or ever has been affiliated with any large pharmacy chain.
Express Scripts and Medco have well-established histories of doing what’s right for patients. The merger would accelerate our ability to do even more.
You might also like to know that Express Scripts, too, is a local business. We employ 354 in the state of New York, most at our prescription processing center in Troy.