Federal Trade Commission
Policing prescription-drug middlemen’s middlemen
The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday announced that it had added massive, new drug-purchasers to an investigation into the practices of powerful drug middlemen. Critics have described those businesses, created since 2019, as another layer of opacity in the already obscure world of drug pricing. The FTC — the federal agency tasked with policing monopolistic […]
The FTC wants to ban non-compete contracts, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan wants to block that effort
Non-compete contracts place limits on the kind of work a person can do once they leave a job. Sometimes that takes the form of a geographic limit — like a 15-mile radius or a series of counties. Other times it might involve specific competitors or lines of business. The intent is to ensure an employee […]
Consumer groups want antitrust probe of hospital suppliers
The middlemen who buy things like medical equipment for hospitals have vastly consolidated their control of the marketplace in recent decades, nine consumer groups are saying. Now the groups want the Federal Trade Commission to mount a formal investigation to see if the companies are stifling competition among medical suppliers, artificially raising costs and unnecessarily […]
Newest federal regulator wants the little guy to be the focus of antitrust enforcement
From groceries to prescriptions to paychecks, the modern American business landscape makes it increasingly difficult for poorer Americans to get what they need to survive, Alvaro Bedoya, the newest member of the Federal Trade Commission, said in an interview late last month. The consequences have taken the form of food and pharmacy "deserts" and in a paucity of jobs that pay a living wage. "I want to focus on the folks at the bottom of the ladder and are trying to move up and not fall off," he said.
Antitrust regulator takes aim at drug middlemen
The newest member of the Federal Trade Commission last week said that for decades his agency hasn’t served the historical mission of the agency — fairness. And in decrying the rise of megacorporations that dominate vast ranges of services in some economic sectors, he cited pharmacy middlemen as exhibit A. Alvaro Bedoya in May was […]
With new acquisition, CVS to get bigger and broader, raising concerns
When CVS Health announced last week that it was buying Signify Health for $8 billion, executives with both companies said it will help them to more effectively deliver care. But some observers are concerned that it means CVS and rival UnitedHealth Group are extending their dominance into yet another aspect of American health care. Dallas-based […]
Feds to probe drug rebates
The Federal Trade Commission last week announced what some observers believe could be a game-changer when it comes to the rising cost of prescription drugs. The agency — which is meant to protect fair competition — said it would look into the murky practice by which drugmakers grant rebates and other fees to insurer-owned pharmacy […]
Biden directs federal agencies to protect LGBTQI+ rights under attack in GOP-led states
President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday aiming to curtail conversion therapy, expand health care access and promote safe learning for LGBTQI+ people. The order is meant to counter laws in Republican-led states that restrict the rights of LGBTQI+ kids and their families. A senior administration official referenced Texas and Florida as two states […]
Federal Trade Commission to investigate pharmacy middlemen
After years of pleading, the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday voted to investigate the practices of some of the nation’s largest companies. They’re accused of using their dominance in myriad sectors of the health care space to drive up costs, drive out competition and reap profits. Four of the six companies to be investigated have […]
Already concerned with drug costs, large employers, family pharmacists worry about more middlemen
There already were deep concerns among small pharmacists about drug middlemen known as "pharmacy benefit managers." Now the corporations that own them appear to be creating yet another layer of middlemen. That has even the largest employers in the country worried.
Federal regulator’s oversight of the drug supply chain blasted — by one of the regulators
One of two federal agencies tasked with policing anticompetitive behavior among corporations last week said it has a lot more work to do when it comes to the prescription-drug supply chain. One of the members of the Federal Trade Commission went even further. He suggested the agency has abdicated its responsibility as drug prices have […]
Federal probe of drug middlemen urged
After years of accusations in Ohio and elsewhere, a bipartisan group in the U.S. Senate wants federal regulators to investigate whether drug middlemen and their parent companies are rigging the system to raise prices and pad their pockets. Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., last month filed legislation that would require the federal […]