Washington, DC—In response to news that President Trump has signed an executive order establishing the Make America Healthy Again Commission to investigate and address the root causes of America’s health crisis—whose initial membership excludes the FTC or DOJ, even though are both pursuing important healthcare-related initiatives—the American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement.

“If President Trump and HHS Secretary Kennedy want the MAHA Commission to be a serious breakthrough effort to address America’s healthcare crisis, and not just another ineffective bureaucratic structure, they must include the FTC and DOJ Antitrust Division as permanent members of the commission,” said Emma Freer, Sr. Analyst for Healthcare at the American Economic Liberties Project. “In recent years, the antitrust enforcers have done more than any arm of government to challenge the corporate interests ailing public health in America – and which Secretary Kennedy has vowed to go after. From the FTC shedding light on how pharma middlemen drive up drug costs and slashing inhaler costs by challenging junk patents to the DOJ investigating UnitedHealth Group, many of these hard-hitting initiatives are ongoing—and the enforcers should have a seat at the table if Secretary Kennedy is serious about driving real change in public health.”

The executive order states that the Commission will include the heads of 13 agencies, from the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to the Director of the National Economic Council. The order notes that the Commission can include “other members of my Administration invited to participate, at the discretion of the Chair and the Executive Director.” Based on the relevance of their authorities and ongoing work related to public health, the Chair of the FTC and AAG for the DOJ Antitrust Division should be included as permanent members.

The U.S. healthcare system today is extremely consolidated, warranting antitrust scrutiny. In 2022, nearly all (97%) of metropolitan areas had highly concentrated markets for inpatient hospitals, and 82% of metro markets were controlled by just one or two health systems. By 2023, hospitals, health insurers, private equity firms, and other corporate entities employed more than three in four doctors. Prescription drug middlemen follow the same pattern; the three largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), group purchasing organizations, and wholesale drug distributors control between 79% and 95% of their respective markets. Meanwhile, health insurance conglomerates not only dominate the insurance market but are also vertically integrated with providers, middlemen, and other entities along the healthcare supply chain. UnitedHealth Group – the nation’s largest commercial health insurer, Medicare Advantage plan provider, and physician employer; second-largest health savings account provider; third-largest PBM; and fourth-largest pharmacy operator – is a prime example. These corporations’ monopoly power enables them to gouge consumers and squeeze competitors out of business.

Read Economic Liberties’ white paper, “Medicare Advantage and Vertical Consolidation in Health Care,” here.

Learn more about America’s health care consolidation crisis here. 

Learn more about Economic Liberties here.

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.