The following statement was issued by Stacy Mitchell, Co-Director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, in response to Amazon’s announcement to buy One Medical, a healthcare company that provides a blend of virtual and in-person care at facilities around the country.
“This acquisition appears to violate antitrust laws and should be blocked by enforcers. Among other things, it would give Amazon access to a cache of personal data that would further entrench its monopoly power in e-commerce. It would also allow Amazon to leverage its existing market power to gain dominance in a new sector.
“This proposed acquisition is Amazon’s latest move to extend its tentacles into healthcare. As with its other moves in this sector, the goal is to intermediate healthcare delivery by becoming the middleman between patients, doctors, and insurers. It’s exactly what Amazon has done in other major sectors, including e-commerce, cloud services, and voice.
“By controlling the underlying infrastructure, Amazon gains ample opportunities to spy on competitors, impose tolls, and otherwise advance its own interests. Allowing Amazon to gain even more structural power in our economy is simply unacceptable.”
Find out more on our research on Amazon here.
Read Stacy’s Twitter Thread here.
About the Institute for Local Self-Reliance
The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) is a national nonprofit research and educational organization founded in 1974. ILSR has a vision of thriving, diverse, equitable communities. To reach this vision, we build local power to fight corporate control. We believe that democracy can only thrive when economic and political power is widely dispersed. Whether it’s fighting back against the outsize power of monopolies like Amazon or advocating to keep local renewable energy in the community that produced it, ILSR advocates for solutions that harness the power of citizens and communities. More at www.ilsr.org
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