10/21/2011 1:16 PM 

Nine Republicans and 5 Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives have joined forces to urge the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to "conduct a full and thorough investigation" of the proposed Express Scripts and Medco merger, "including examining the impact that the merger will have on consumers, patients, third party and federal payers."

In a letter sent to the FTC, the members of Congress cited a Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General Report that said of pharmacy benefit manager practices, "pharmacy discounts were not always passed on to the beneficiaries and the Government."

Specific to this proposed merger, the members of Congress said, "On its face, the merger demonstrates the potential for a combined entity to dominate an already heavily concentrated market."

The members of Congress signing the letter include Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Mike Rogers (R-AL), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Tom Marino (R-PA), Robert Aderholt (R-AL), Judy Chu (D-CA), Don Young (R-AK), Terri Sewell (D-AL), Peter Welch (D-VT), Martha Roby (R-AL), Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX), Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Jo Bonner (R-AL) and Mo Brooks (R-AL).