"First, in my mind, the plain text of the FTC Act clearly gives the agency the authority to promulgate rules addressing unfair methods of competition," FTC Chair Lina Khan said. Not everyone agrees.
The PWFA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees, however, the final rule provides clarification for "reasonable accommodations," such as time off for health care appointments and abortions.
"I expect that they will be looking for opportunities to apply all of the elements of the guidelines in merger cases -- to some extent, they've already been doing that," said former FTC Chair William Kovacic.
The Federal Trade Commission, which is reviewing the business practices of the largest PBMs – including CVS, Express Scripts, OptumRx, and Humana – grilled two nominees on the subject at their confirmation hearing.
Since the health care industry has been experiencing labor shortages, the agencies are trying to figure out a way to investigate the "serial mergers" in the initial notification process.