Category Archives: National Politics
Why Energy Matters?
The American Petroleum Institute (API) recently launched a new initiative, Vote 4 Energy, which will focus on why energy issues should concern many voters during the 2012 elections. According to API, this is not a partisan issue, rather energy is an issue that should concern many Americans, as it impacts the economy and job development for the future.
Below is a video featuring Tom of Virginia Right:
Energy is an important issue. With the potential rise in fuel prices, there is no doubt that something needs to be done to utilize our own resources to help curb our reliance on foreign oil.
New Hampshire’s “Lesser Known Candidates”
Introducing Vermin Supreme, who was one of the “lesser-known” presidential candidates. This is the new “Basil Marceaux” of 2012.
This is too funny, so the video is enough for an explanation.
Don’t You Love the Smell of Corruption
D.C. is the Nation’s capital, but it is also the capital of corruption. Needless to say, I am not surprised that some on the D.C. City Council are being accused of corruption for various money scandals. Currently, the FBI is investigating city councilman Harry Thomas, Jr. for charges of corruption and tax evasion.
However, the most recent allegation plaguing the city council is one that is more damning. According to The Washington Examiner, a live feed from a D.C. Council was recently cut during a press conference, as Council Chairman Kwame Brown was being questions about the ethics scandal and the poor approval ratings. While the press conference was about upcoming legislation, reporters wanted to focus on the ethics scandal. After all, people are outraged and questions need to be answered. The excuse was that Brown, nor his Chief of Staff did not know that the feed was turned off.
What does the D.C. Council have to be afraid of? The live feed was turned off, which results in a lack of transparency. Transparency is essential in government. Shouldn’t the Council answer for their actions? Whatever the case may be, the people don’t deserve to be left out in the cold in terms of what is happening on the D.C. City Council.
The Problem with Pharmacy Consolidation
Recently, there was an excellent op-ed on the Express Scripts/Medco Health Solutions merger by Steven Pearlstein in The Washington Post. I have been covering the potential hazards that this merger would have not only on local community pharmacies, but on the consumers. Pearlstein really outlines why this merger, and in particular, why the merger of two large entities can have a negative impact.
With the merger of Express Scripts/Medco Health Solutions, you would have one major pharmacy benefit management company, who would make the small community pharmacies face the pressures from big retailers and the PBMs. Pearlstein noted:
The independent pharmacists have good reason to be concerned — because of competition from the big retail chains and the PBMs, they’ve become an endangered species. Some of this is the result of competition that is thuggish and unfair and results in inferior and less-convenient service for customers. But some of it reflects the hard economic reality that mail order is a cheaper and more efficient way to fill prescriptions and scale is important when negotiating prices with patent-wielding monopolists in the pharmaceutical industry. Over time, we will miss them the way we miss the local ice cream parlor and dressmaker.
The other issue that arises from this merger is the fact that consumers will not receive the care and attention that the pharmacists at the local pharmacies provide. Many of these pharmacists know their customers and their medical backgrounds, especially in terms of which medication interferes with another.
Will the consumer be able to benefit from this merger without having to pay more? Pearlstein noted that it would all have to depend on the competition of other regional PBMs. With Express Scripts and Medco (two of the larger PBMs) merging, this will reduce the price competition, thus causing the prices to rise.
This merger is a bad idea, and one that could be detrimental to many who use local pharmacies and those who own them. Perhaps, it is time for the Federal Trade Commission to wake up and stop this merger.
Your Tax Dollars at Work…Careful What You Tweet
Here’s an example of your tax dollars at work. It appears that three staffers from Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wa.)’s office were tweeting about their wild escapades of drinking during work hours and insulting their boss.
You can read about the exchange here, but below is a little example of the tweets.
“My coworker just took a shot of Jack crouching behind my desk. We have unabashedly given up on just about all things work related. #D2R
D2R was referred to as December to Remember, which was to mark their month of debauchery. Now, these three staffers are going to have a rough time convincing future employers that they will not fall prey to the behavior they displayed at Rep. Larsen’s office.
Lessons learned from this: Don’t be a dumbass and tweet about your bad behavior while on the job. Social networking can be fun and provide essential news/information, but it was not designed to air your dirty laundry.
Peyton Hillis Supports Ron Paul
Granted, I am a Steelers fan, but I really like Peyton Hillis. Hillis has not been having a really great season for the Cleveland Browns (he did last season…and even made it on the cover of Madden 2012), but I like his politics, as he supports Ron Paul. Just listen to the clip below.
Ron Paul 2012. We need a President, who will stand on principle and one who will get us out of the economic mess we are in.
The Occupy Crowd Wants to Shut Down Wall Street
Reuters reports that the Occupy crowd wants to shut down Wall Street. Didn’t they try to do this already? I know things have been busy with the election, and maybe, I have neglected a few things when it came to the Occupy crowd. Oh well, I wonder if it will be as successful as it has been in cities like Oakland and Portland, where they have been booted out.
They are probably not succeeding in Springfield.
Medco/Express Scripts Merger Under Further Scrutiny
The Medco/Express Scripts merger is not just under scrutiny by some members in Congress, but Attorneys General in 29 states, including Virginia. Recently, Financial Times reports that the proposed merger has caught the attention, due to antitrust issues, as second tier pharmacy benefits managers are starting to compete with Medco and Express Scripts.
According to a spokesperson from Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s office, Cuccinelli is looking into this issue, due to the fact that this merger could take away from competition in Virginia.
Since the Express Scripts-Medo Health Solutions merger could impact Virginia consumers, we are taking our role seriously to investigate whether this merger will create any anticompetitive consequences in the prescription drug market here. We have not made a determination yet of whether we feel the merger will be anticompetitive, competitively neutral, or even precompetitive. We are not opposed to the merger, but we do feel that we have a responsibility to investigate this matter thoroughly.
There are many questions and issues involving the merger, and while it is customary for Attorneys General in many states to review such mergers, this merger is particularly concerning due to the fact that Medco/Express Scripts will take away from the competition. When competition is non-existent, it is only a given that pharmaceutical prices will continue to climb. This is not something that many Virginians can afford, during these troubled economic times.
Protect Community Pharmacies Receive Additional Support Against Express Scripts/Medco Merger
On Capitol Hill Tuesday, the Preserve Community Pharmacies Access NOW! (PCPAN) coalition and other local groups joined with Reps. Joe Courtney (D-Ct.) and Thomas Marino (R-Pa.) to voice their opposition to the merger of Express Scripts, Inc. and Medco Health Solutions, Inc., two of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefits management companies. There is a push to urge Congress and the Federal Trade Commission to oppose the merger.
This merger could go into effect, if approved, in early 2012. Several elected officials, attorney generals of dozens of states, pharmacy service providers, consumer advocates, and patient advocacy groups have questioned the merger.
During their visit, the coalition expressed concerns that the merger would mean that the new mega-PBM would control the supply line of brand-name and generic drugs, as well as hurting health care quality and limiting access to community pharmacies driving prices through the roof.
Kelly Williams, past president of the Virginia Dental Hygienists’ Association said, “The merger would make it difficult for smaller community pharmacies to keep their doors open, resulting in reduced competition, and reduced competition means cost increases for the public.”
Joining Williams to express concern about the pending merger was William Towler, who owns Grove Avenue Pharmacy in Richmond. If this merger goes through, there would be a detrimental impact on Towler’s business and other small community pharmacies across the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Protect our Community Pharmacies
Business mergers are not uncommon in today’s society. Sometimes they are for the best, and other times they negatively impact consumers and businesses. A proposed merger is likely to devastate community pharmacies and those who benefit from their services. Recently, two pharmacy benefit companies, Express Scripts, Inc. and Medco Health Solutions, Inc., announced that they will be merging in July, with a final transaction closing in the first half of 2012. This would create a company that would have excessive market power that would have the ability to squeeze the already burdened health care system for its own profits at the expense of patient choice.
Additionally, this merger would leave fewer choices for employers seeking cost savings for their health care plans. It would also mean fewer choices for those who rely on local pharmacies to fill their prescriptions, as they would have to travel further to fill their prescriptions or be denied the opportunity to have face-to-face access with their pharmacists. Patient choice would be severely limited under this merger, as those who relied on going to a community pharmacy to fill their prescriptions would be forced to have them filled by Express Scripts/Medco.
The Express Scripts/Medco merger will also have a significant impact on those receiving Medicare Part D benefits, as this would limit competition between pharmacies and the mail order company. This would increase pharmaceutical prices, which would drive up the costs for those receive state aid.
Why should consumers have to pay for an increase in bad service? Express Scripts is a mail order company, and it does not value the relationship between consumers and pharmacists. Congress and the Federal Trade Commission should stop this merger that will be unfair to local pharmacies and health care providers. This merger will further dilute the quality of patient care, while restricting their access to receiving medicines from the pharmacy of their choice. You can learn more about this and sign a petition against this merger by clicking here.
