The Biden administration’s top consumer watchdog, Lina Khan, has raised concerns about new technologies that are facilitating price fixing and discrimination against individual consumers.
During a media event hosted by KFF, Khan, who chairs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), emphasized the role of algorithms in enabling companies to fix prices without explicit coordination. This poses a new challenge for regulators responsible for overseeing market competition.
Khan highlighted the increasing use of artificial intelligence and algorithms to set personalized prices for consumers, based on their behavioral data and other factors. She stressed the need for the FTC to scrutinize these practices to ensure they do not lead to anticompetitive behavior.
The FTC has recently taken steps to address concerns in the healthcare industry, including launching a website to facilitate reporting of suspected anticompetitive practices. The agency is also investigating vertical integration strategies, such as hospitals acquiring doctor practices and pharmacy benefit managers expanding into insurance or pharmacies, to identify potential harm to consumers.
Khan emphasized the importance of having experts on staff who can analyze complex algorithms to detect potential antitrust violations. She noted that this expertise has already enabled the FTC to take legal actions that would not have been possible without technological insights.
In addition to traditional challenges posed by local hospital mergers, the FTC is monitoring the increasing prevalence of non-geographically overlapping system mergers. Khan also highlighted the growing number of complaints received regarding the use of monopoly power by firms in the healthcare industry, resulting in higher prices, reduced services, and poorer conditions for healthcare workers.
The FTC’s recent proposal to ban non-compete clauses, which can prevent employees from moving to new jobs, has garnered positive feedback, particularly from healthcare workers who have faced personal and professional limitations due to such agreements. Khan emphasized the FTC’s commitment to protecting consumers and ensuring fair market practices in the healthcare industry and beyond.
