Open Markets Publishes Exclusive Concentration Data Exposing the Monopoly Problem in Health Care

 
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Washington, D.C. — Today, the Open Markets Institute released Volume II of America’s Concentration Crisis, which presents exclusive data on market concentration in the healthcare industry. This new data, sourced from IBISWorld, comes as the Senate Judiciary Committee prepares for a hearing on June 12 on the implications of vertical consolidation in healthcare.

“Our national healthcare debate too often misses the role of monopoly in driving up healthcare costs,” says Open Markets Policy Director Phil Longman. “What this report shows is that exorbitant prices in healthcare are largely a symptom of increasingly concentrated healthcare markets and that more rigorous antitrust enforcement is essential to solving America’s healthcare crisis.”

This new data demonstrates how a broad range of markets in the healthcare sector, from syringe manufacturing to dialysis centers, have become increasingly monopolized over time by a handful of major players. This growing monopoly power contributes significantly to the high prices, poor quality, and lack of access that millions of Americans experience when interacting with the healthcare system. Addressing concentration in healthcare must be a critical part of the broader healthcare reform debate.

See the new data here. Some highlights include:

  • One corporation, Becton Dickinson, controls a 64% market share in syringe manufacturing, a $3.8 billion industry.

  • Two corporations, Fresenius and DaVita, control a 92% market share in dialysis centers, a $24.4 billion industry.

  • Two corporations, Synchrony and Citigroup, control a 68% market share in medical patient financing, a $4.1 billion industry.

  • Three companies, Stryker, Zimmer Holdings, and Johnson & Johnson, control an 88% share in orthopedics product manufacturing, a $10.6 billion industry.

For additional context on the consequences of monopolization in the healthcare sector and solutions, see:

Open Markets Monopoly Basics: Hospitals & Monopoly

The Guardian: How Big Medicine Can Ruin Healthcare For All

Washington Monthly: Dirty Medicine