John Rice Carter: “That is the whole key. The whole key is that what we are talking about is patient care. We are not talking about…”

“That is the whole key. The whole key is that what we are talking about is patient care. We are not talking about community pharmacies trying to pad their pockets. But what we are trying to point out and what you have done so efficiently, particularly with your chart, is to point out what is happening here. Everyone is concerned about high drug prices right now. It is one of the biggest subjects that we hear about in the newscasts and everywhere. Granted, this is not the only part of that, but it is a big part of it. What is happening is we are taking competition out of health care. If we talk about ObamaCare, if we talk about the Affordable Care Act, ObamaCare, whatever you want to call it, my number one concern with is that it has taken competition, it has taken the free market out of health care. I mean, think about it. Am I talking just about independent retail pharmacies? No. I am talking about independent health care. How many independent doctors do you know anymore? Most of them are members of healthcare systems, most of them are members of hospital systems, which are fine systems, but, again, we are taking away competition. And that is what is happening here. I thank Representative Collins. I want to thank him for, again, organizing and bringing this to light. As you have mentioned, I have been a community pharmacist for over 30 years. I graduated from the University of Georgia in 1980. Go Dogs. I am just as proud as I can be of my alma mater.…”