Pharmacists United for Truth and Transparency

PUTT Blog

PUTT Opposes CVS-Aetna Merger, Cigna-Express Scripts and Other "Mega Mergers" of This Type

With this week's news that the U.S. Department of Justice has given Cigna and Express Scripts the go-ahead to merge, it's worth revisiting - and re-stating - the obvious: PUTT opposes the CVS-Aetna merger.

PUTT also opposes Cigna-Express Scripts and any other "mega mergers" that result in one less choice for consumers; one more layer of bureaucracy for patients who already find themselves "lost" or treated like a number in corporate healthcare; or one more headache for pharmacies trying to care for patients AND keep the doors open for business.

PBMs In the News

Independent physician organization opposes CVS and Aetna merger
By Susan Morse
Originally published in Healthcare Finance, 9/25/18

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons has added its voice to that of the American Medical Association in opposing the proposed merger between CVS Health and Aetna.

The deal would steer patients to insurance plans and site of care, and away from their physicians, according to AAPS President-elect Marilyn Singleton, MD, wrote in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and to Makan Delrahim, the assistant attorney for the General Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice.

Pharmacists United for Truth and Transparency (PUTT) is a non-profit advocacy organization founded by independent pharmacists and pharmacy owners devoted to exposing the truth about the anti-competitive tactics of pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) - drug benefits plan providers whose unregulated, secretive practices drive up prescription costs and annually waste hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.