During a visit to southern Wisconsin Thursday, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Lina Khan would not rule out the possibility of the agency getting involved in litigation brought against Verona based Epic Systems. Khan held a listening session in Baraboo Thursday morning, and appeared alongside Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Black Earth) at a press conference to highlight corporate consolidation of grocery stores. The FTC is tasked with enforcing the nation’s antitrust laws and fostering a better market for consumers.
MADISON (WKOW) – During a visit to southern Wisconsin Thursday, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Lina Khan would not rule out the possibility of the agency getting involved in litigation brought against Verona based Epic Systems.
Khan held a listening session in Baraboo Thursday morning, and appeared alongside Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Black Earth) at a press conference to highlight corporate consolidation of grocery stores.
The FTC is tasked with enforcing the nation’s antitrust laws and fostering a better market for consumers.
Last month Epic was hit with an antitrust lawsuit by Particle Health, a startup. The lawsuit claims Epic used its influence over the electronic healthcare record market to freeze Particle out of offering services related to processing insurance claims and analyzing records.
Epic claimed Particle’s handling of health records violated privacy regulations. The Verona company claims on its website to have “over 305 million patient charts in Epic, representing patients from all 50 states and over a dozen countries.”
27 News asked Khan if the FTC should involve itself in enforcing antitrust laws against Epic.
“We're not involved in that litigation, which is brought by a private company, but it's actually something I had heard concerns about, especially among entrepreneurs and startups that were trying to enter the healthcare space,” Khan said.
She went on to note that the FTC does involve itself in litigation between private companies through amicus briefs, which offer the court the agency’s interpretation of the law. 27 News pressed Khan if the FTC would file a brief in the Particle lawsuit.
“It's too early for us to say,” Khan said.
The chairwoman did note that companies controlling large amounts of information can present risks outside of stymying competition.
“Another concern we've seen is that when you consolidate control over data that can actually leave systems much more vulnerable to certain types of cyber attacks or other hacks that lead to systems really crashing,” Khan said.
Pocan used the event to endorse the work Khan has done as FTC chair.
“‘Kicking ass’ is the term I would probably use on behalf of consumers and helping to keep costs down when companies are bluntly taking advantage of consumers on a regular basis,” Pocan said.
Khan has used a more aggressive and progressive approach to her role than most FTC chairs. Under her leadership, the agency has challenged mergers and pushed new pro-worker rules. The moves have won her a base of support, but also opposition from some wealthy Democratic donors. The latter have made known their preference for Vice President Kamala Harris to appoint a new chair if she wins the race for president.
“I think there are many of us–and I'm not just speaking for myself–in Congress who feel the same way,” Pocan said of his support for Khan, “and we're very enthusiastic about her role and her continuing the work she's doing.”
