Public Citizen advised Amazon's acquisition of One Medical should be rejected if Amazon does not commit to robust, legally binding safeguards in a letter sent today to authorized U.S decision-makers.
Article updated Aug. 4 with comment from an Amazon spokesperson.
Public Citizen advised Amazon's proposed acquisition of healthcare provider, One Medical, should be rejected in a letter sent the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, and leaders in Congress.
The non-profit consumer advocacy group that defends democracy and works to ensure government works for the people, wrote today that the merger should be investigated or "rejecteted unless Amazon commits to robust, legally binding safeguards that protect consumers, competition, and the integrity of the health care system."
Public Citizen raised the following concerns:
According to a statement by Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, in the release, the American healthcare system is broken, but Amazon’s entry as a major healthcare provider could make it worse.
“We may get marketing instead of medicine, data harvesting instead of privacy protections, robotic care instead of bedside manner, and more healthcare disparity instead of more quality," Weissman said. "The problem of American healthcare can be summed up as too much greed and not enough patient care. The Amazon acquisition of One Medical will only deepen that problem.”
An Amazon spokesperson commented on the statement regarding the safety of One Medical's member information.
“As required by law, Amazon will never share One Medical customers’ personal health information outside of One Medical for advertising or marketing purposes of other Amazon products and services without clear permission from the customer," wrote the spokesperson. “Should the deal close, One Medical customers' HIPAA Protected Health Information will be handled separately from all other Amazon businesses, as required by law.”
In this latest episode of Tuning In to the C-Suite podcast, Briana Contreras, an editor with MHE had the pleasure of meeting Loren McCaghy, director of consulting, health and consumer engagement and product insight at Accenture, to discuss the organization's latest report on U.S. consumers switching healthcare providers and insurance payers.
Listen
Mental Health Comorbidities Affect Uptravi Prescribing for PAH
October 23rd 2024New real-world data suggest that physicians are cautious about prescribing the prostacyclin-receptor agonist Uptravi (selexipag) to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients with mental health conditions when evidence suggests that it is best to take a proactive approach to treating PAH.
Read More
In our latest "Meet the Board" podcast episode, Managed Healthcare Executive Editors caught up with editorial advisory board member, Eric Hunter, CEO of CareOregon, to discuss a number of topics, one including the merger that never closed with SCAN Health Plan due to local opposition from Oregonians.
Listen
High-Dose Eylea Shows Unique Properties in nAMD and DME | AAO 2024
October 22nd 2024A new statistical models shed light on why some patients can extend the dosing interval with Eylea (aflibercept) from 8 weeks to as long as 20 weeks for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) or diabetic macular edema (DME).
Read More