Local view: Senators should inspire others to oppose pharmacy merger

On behalf of our 2,000 members in Minnesota and 3,000 members in Wisconsin, we applaud U.S. Sens. Herb Kohl and Al Franken for their leadership and vision. Like us, Sen. Kohl, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, and Sen. Franken are very concerned about the ramifications of the proposed merger between Express Scripts Inc. and Medco Health Solutions. If the Federal Trade Commission approves this merger, two of our nation’s largest and most profitable pharmacy benefit managers will combine into an entity with enough market share and control to change the future of the pharmacy profession, threaten small and large pharmacy jobs, raise prescription drug costs and subvert patient access to quality prescription drug care.

By: Julie Johnson and Christopher Decker, Duluth News Tribune