Express Scripts, Medco Merger Will Reduce Health Care Costs, Company Executives Say

The proposed merger of Express Scripts Inc. and Medco Health Solutions Inc. will reduce overall costs in the health care system, Express Scripts and Medco executives said during a Sept. 20 hearing of the House Judiciary Committee’s Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet Subcommittee.

But small pharmacy trade groups and consumer advocates testified against the merger, saying it would drive up costs.

Medco and Express Scripts, two of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), announced the proposed merger in late July (141 DER A-25, 7/22/11). Under the merger agreement, Express Scripts would buy Medco for $29.1 billion. ...