New Model Legislation Gives States Tools to Stop Corporate Takeovers of Dental Care
December 18, 2025 – The American Economic Liberties Project today released model state legislation, The Independent Dental Practice Act, giving lawmakers a ready-to-use framework to protect patients and independent dentists from the corporate takeover of dentistry. The model legislation comes amid accelerating consolidation in the dental industry, most recently illustrated by the acquisition of Delta Dental of Wisconsin by Cherry Tree Dental, a private equity–backed practice chain and dental service organization (DSO), which marked the first time in Wisconsin history that a dental insurer purchased a dental provider.
New Brief Reveals How UnitedHealth Group’s FDIC-Insured Bank Tightens “Death Grip” on Independent Physicians
December 18, 2025 – Optum Financial has grown into an essential component of UnitedHealth Group’s monopoly power, one that it uses to tighten an iron grip of control over independent physician practices, a new brief released by the American Economic Liberties Project today details. The analysis documents how UnitedHealth’s FDIC-insured industrial bank, something that has largely been overlooked in debates over health care consolidation, has become another lever the company uses to push independent practices toward financial dependence, closure, or sale, often during moments of acute distress and volatility.
Economic Liberties Senior Fellow Katherine Van Dyck to Testify Before US House Committee on How Private Equity is Gutting Youth Sports
December 16, 2025 – This morning at 10:00am EST, Economic Liberties Senior Legal Fellow Katherine Van Dyck will testify in front of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education at a hearing titled, “Benched: The Crisis in American Youth Sports and Its Cost to Our Future.” The hearing will examine the growing role of private equity and financial consolidation in youth sports; the resulting rise in costs for families; declining access and participation; and the broader consequences for children’s health, safety, and community life.
Economic Liberties Calls on CPUC to Reject $4.4 Billion in Excessive Utility Returns
December 15, 2025 – Following an Administrative Law Judge’s proposed decision on the Authorized Cost of Capital for Utility Operations for PG&E, SoCalGas, SCE, and SDG&E for 2026 (“the proposed decision”)—which offers the utilities a combined $4.4 billion in excessive returns—the American Economic Liberties Project and a coalition of eight other organizations today sent a letter calling on the California Public Utility Commission (“the Commission”) to reject the proposed decision.
Trump Administration Attempts to Bully States on Behalf of Big Tech in New AI Executive Order
December 12, 2025 – Following a new executive order released by the Trump Administration yesterday aimed at challenging state-level legislation that protects communities from the harms of AI, the American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement.