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Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) recently sent a letter to the FTC asking for a review of the proposed $3.9 billion merger between Amazon and One Medical, a chain of medical clinics whose acquisition would mark Amazon’s latest move to take the healthcare industry.
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) asked the FTC in a recent letter investigating the proposed $3.9 billion acquisition deal between Amazon and One Medical.
Jeff Bezos lectures regular people on climate change Pool/Getty)
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Hawley wrote in the letter, “I recognize that the FTC is currently engaged in numerous efforts to combat America’s accelerating economic concentration and the power of the technology giants. However, I urge you to prioritize a search review of this particular transaction.”
Hawley said the acquisition would “give Amazon access to massive amounts of patient data,” and while he acknowledged that HIPAA and other privacy laws could “prevent the worst possible abuses,” he noted that “there are loopholes in every legal framework.” .
Hawley said some privacy-related scenarios “once written off as scary fiction are now a very real possibility.” Hawley provided a scenario, stating, “For example, if a person is diagnosed with high blood pressure by a doctor, will they later be advertised to over-the-counter blood pressure medications whenever they shop at Whole Foods Market?”
Hawley also claimed that the deal will strengthen Amazon’s dominance in the market and may even reshape the power dynamics of the primary care space.
“It doesn’t matter whether the primary care market itself is currently competitive: by having its hand in dozens of smaller markets, Amazon is positioned to eventually emerge as the dominant player in each one, as cross-subsidization allows Amazon to offers services to Loss and data-driven network results allow Amazon to market at a level that its competitors can’t match,” said Hawley.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan
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