Puerto Rican Pharmacy Cooperative Reaches Settlement for “Price-Fixing” Charges 

http://www.fiadservices.com/puerto-rican-pharmacy-cooperative-reaches-settlement-for-price-fixing-charges/
FTC Settlement Stops Group's suspected Anticompetitive BehaviorA Puerto Rican cooperative of pharmacy owners, Cooperativa de Farmacias Puertorriquenas, known as "Coopharma," has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it harmed competition by negotiating, entering into, and implementing agreements among its member pharmacies to fix prices on which they contract with insurers and pharmacy benefit managers.According to the FTC, Coopharma's actions over the past five years have led to higher prices for Puerto Rico's health care consumers. In settling the charges, Coopharma has agreed not to engage in such conduct in the future. The case is the latest example of the FTC's work to protect consumers from higher costs and decreased innovation in the health care sector.Coopharma consists of approximately 300 pharmacy-owner members who own more than 350 pharmacies in Puerto Rico. Its members represent at least one-third of all pharmacies in Puerto Rico, and have a particularly strong presence on the western side of the island.The FTC charges that since at least 2007, Coopharma has violated federal antitrust laws by collectively negotiating with more than 10 payers over reimbursement rates, and signing seven single-signature "master contracts" on behalf of its member pharmacies. In addition, the FTC alleges that the threat of collective action by Coopharma members led two payers to pay higher rates to the group's members through their individual pharmacy contracts. Coopharma's actions caused substantial harm to Puerto Rican health care consumers, the FTC charges, without any offsetting efficiencies.The proposed consent order resolves the FTC's concerns relating to Coopharma's conduct and is designed to prevent its recurrence. It prohibits Coopharma from entering into or facilitating agreements between or among any pharmacies: to negotiate on behalf of any pharmacy with any payer; to refuse to deal or threaten to refuse to deal with any payer; to include any term, condition, or requirement upon which any pharmacy deals, or is willing to deal, with any payer, including, but not limited, price terms; or not to deal individually with any payer or not to deal with any payer other than through Coopharma.The proposed order also prohibits Coopharma from facilitating information exchanges between pharmacies regarding whether, or on what terms to contract with a payer, and it bars attempts to engage in any of the conduct prohibited by the order. It also bars Coopharma from encouraging, suggesting, advising, pressuring, inducing, or trying to induce anyone to engage in the prohibited conduct.Finally, the proposed order allows payers to terminate their contracts with Coopharma without penalty, and requires Coopharma to notify each pharmacy that provides services through that contract of the termination. It also subjects Coopharma to provisions designed to ensure its compliance with the proposed order, which will expire in 20 years.