The last few weeks have seen some major shakeups in the pharmacy industry.

On Tuesday, Feb. 27, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law in Washington, D.C. met to discuss the proposed $69 billion CVS Health-Aetna merger.

NCPA provided a statement to the subcommittee on behalf of independent pharmacies across the country. NCPA’s statement included concerns such as increased consolidation leading to higher costs, minimizing patient choice, and accessibility issues for patients who want to use their local pharmacy, particularly in rural/underserved areas.

On Tuesday, March 13, CVS Health and Aetna shareholders approved the merger and now await approval from the Department of Justice to officially close on the deal.

On Thursday, March 8, Cigna announced that it would be purchasing Express Scripts for $52 billion.

NCPA released a public statement noting similar concerns to the CVS Health-Aetna merger saying that “Continued vertical health care consolidation could impede competition” and that “antitrust scrutiny is critical to protect competition and ensure affordable patient access.”