The Consumer Federation of America, National Consumers League, National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices and U.S. PIRG filed an amicus brief to urge the court to stop the merger of Express Scripts and Medco pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) companies. 

The brief cites that the merger will harm consumers through increased costs and reduced choice and access to retail community pharmacies, as well as access challenges for vulnerable patients who rely on specialty pharmacy drugs.  

In an opinion column, Harry C. Alford, co-founder, president and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, wrote that if the Federal Trade Commission reviews the proposed Express Scripts and Medco merger with the scrutiny that it deserves, "it is difficult to see how they could possibly allow it to move forward."

Writing in Black Voice News, Alford called the proposed merger of pharmaceutical insurance middle-men "a corporate merger that could result in great strides backward for African Americans and others suffering from economic and health ills."

The drumbeat for patient care and against the proposed Express Scripts and Medco merger continued today, as the senior advocacy group 60-Plus wrote to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) saying the deal "will mean higher prescription prices, fewer choices in pharmacy care, and lower-quality health services than are currently available."  

60-Plus said the merger of pharmaceutical insurance middlemen "is anti-competitive, anti-consumer and anti-senior, and should not be allowed to proceed."

"Another mega deal hangs in the balance amid regulatory scrutiny.  Pharmacy benefit managers Express Scripts Inc. and Medco Health Solutions Inc. are awaiting word from the FTC on their $29 billion merger, which has faced criticism from consumer groups that the deal will increase drug costs."

- Gina Chon, "Global Regulators Proving Hard To Please On Mergers," The Wall Street Journal's "Deal Journal," February 1, 2012

The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research (ACI) has added its voice to the mounting concerns about the proposed Express Scripts and Medco merger.  In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), ACI wrote, "Approving this mega-PBM [pharmacy benefit manager] merger would only exacerbate the conflicts of interest and concentration of market power that already exist in the PBM industry, and would in no way benefit consumers.  For these reasons, the Institute is strongly opposed to the Express Scripts-Medco merger, and we urge the commission to dedicate adequate resources to thoroughly review the merger."

High profile national organizations have written again to the Federal Trade Commission to debunk arguments that - while dubious - have been utilized to allay fears about the potential ramifications of the proposed Express Scripts and Medco merger.  The organizations that wrote the letter to help prevent the proposed merger from slithering through the antitrust review process include National Consumers League; Consumer Federation of America; American Antitrust Institute; Community Catalyst; U.S. PIRG; and the National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices (NLARx).

As reported in the Queens Campaigner, a rally led by New York State Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas (D-Astoria) raised awareness of the feared anti-competitive and anti-consumer consequences of the proposed Express Scripts and Medco merger.

Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League, did not come right out and call the proposed merger of Express Scripts and Medco a "hound dog."  She did, however, come very close to saying a merged Express Scripts and Medco mega-PBM "ain't no friend of mine."

In a letter-to-the-editor published on The Hill's Congress Blog with the headline "PBMs NOT the friend of consumers," Greenberg took issue with a prior opinion piece by Jonathan Orszag.  Greenberg said that Orszag "portrays pharmacy benefit managers as the best friend of consumers," but "seems to lose sight of the interests of the ultimate consumer here  - the patient."

Consumers Union and NACDS are among those quoted in a New York Times article published on the day of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on the proposed Express Scripts and Medco merger.  "Our concern is that a mega PBM would have tremendous power and control over what prescription drugs Americans can get, where they get them, and how much the drugs cost," said Don Bell, senior vice president and general counsel for NACDS.

In a simple and powerful statement, the American Antitrust Institute (AAI) wrote in a letter to the Federal Trade Commission:  "Express Scripts' acquisition of Medco poss a threat to substantially lessen competition in the provision of pharmacy benefit manager services throughout the United States."

David Balto, who previously served as policy director at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and who now represents opponents of the proposed Express Scripts and Medco merger, made a compelling case in a leading Capitol Hill newspaper against the emergence of a mega-pharmacy-benefit-manager (PBM).

Representatives of the Louisiana Lupus Foundation and the Louisiana Academy of Medical Psychologists are quoted in an opinion piece posted on Louisiana’s BayouBuzz.com, describing the flaws of reducing or eliminating the ability of patients to choose to obtain their prescriptions from community pharmacies – a feared potential consequence of the proposed Express Scripts and Medco merger.

Today, the following organizations sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission to oppose the Express Scripts and Medco merger:  National Consumers League, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union - Nonprofit Publisher of Consumer Reports, U.S. PIRG and National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices.