Preserve Community Pharmacy Access NOW! coalition opposes ESI/Medco merger

WASHINGTON — The Preserve Community Pharmacy Access NOW! coalition on Wednesday announced its opposition to the proposed merger between Express Scripts and Medco Health Solutions.

"The merger between two of these middlemen, which could go into effect as soon as early 2012, would create a mega-pharmacy benefit management company with excessive control over the health care of tens-of-millions of Americans. This would limit our access to and choice of pharmacies," the coalition stated.

“With a growing population competing for access to limited resources, Americans face enough challenges — including receiving equal and affordable access to quality health care," stated Eva Clayton, chairwoman for the Preserve Community Pharmacy Access NOW!. "This is particularly true for lower-income and minority Americans. … Creating a giant healthcare system middleman by combining Express Scripts and Medco will hurt quality, raise prices and limit access to our trusted community pharmacists," she said. "This simply is not in the best interests of patients, employers or health care in America, and I hope that Congress and the administration will stand up for American patients and oppose the merger.”

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