NCPA supports re-introduction of Monopolies Act
By HME News Staff
Updated 10:27 AM CDT, Mon May 18, 2026
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) supports the re-introduction of the Patients Before Monopolies Act, which would force companies that own health insurers or pharmacy benefit managers to divest their pharmacy businesses within three years. The act, first introduced in December 2024, has been reintroduced in both the House and Senate. “PBMs have a choice – operate as a PBM or operate as a pharmacy, but you can’t have it both ways,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey, pharmacist, MBA. “Having both functions under one roof is a huge conflict of interest and drives up prescription drug prices. The Patients Before Monopolies Act is critical in supporting patients and independent pharmacies and restoring a free market.” In the House, the act is led by Reps. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, Buddy Carter, R-Ga., Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and Troy Nehls, R-Texas; in the Senate, it’s led by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Roger Marshall, R-Kan, and John Fetterman, D-Pa. The Patients Before Monopolies Act would, according to NCPA:
- Prohibiting a parent company from owning both a PBM/health insurer and a pharmacy;
- Require divestiture of pharmacy assets within one year;
- Establish strong enforcement;
- Enable private right of action; and
- Prevent re-consolidation that would recreate the same anticompetitive structure.
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