December 8, 2021 4:00 a.m.

On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate recent consolidation’s in Oregon’s retail pharmacy market to assess whether large national pharmacy chains and health plans have acted to make this market less competitive.

A release said Wyden’s letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan follows the recent announcement by Bi-Mart that its closing 56 pharmacies across the northwest, including 37 in Oregon.

Wyden who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, said “Exploitive business practices conducted by pharmaceutical middlemen are driving locally owned pharmacies out of business”. Wyden said the practices are not unique to the northwest, so he is calling on the FTC “..to investigate this trend on a national level so action can be taken to protect local businesses”.

The release said Wyden’s letter highlights ongoing industry dynamics that pose significant challenges to small, independent pharmacies. One particular practice known as direct and indirect remuneration, a form of retrospective fees imposed on pharmacies by pharmaceutical benefit managers, has been cited as a particular challenge for these pharmacies to maintain healthy finances. Wyden said that according to a report by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, PBM’s increased pharmacy DIR fees under Medicare Part D by 91,500 percent from 2010 to 2019.

Wyden said, “My deep concern about the trends unfolding in Oregon lead me to request that the FTC investigate Walgreen’s acquisition of Bi-Mart pharmacies, including the surrounding circumstances”. Wyden said although these closures represent a local example, “I am concerned that they represent a larger national trend in which a few powerful companies have gained the market power to drive competitors out of business and monopolize the market”.