[ [link removed] ]The text reads, "We have the power to dismantle monopolies." The
graphic is a raised fist that is clutching dollar bills.
John,
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused and exacerbated economic hardships for
many Black people, where at least 35% of Black adults are worried about
paying their bills and the amount of debt they carry.^1 Meanwhile, many
healthcare executives scored millions of dollars in bonuses and pay raises
in 2020.^2 Healthcare corporations have treated our healthcare system like
a game of Monopoly. They buy up their competitors, close hospitals that
are not profitable to them, and exploit patents to keep affordable
medicines off the market.^3-5 Much like Tenet Healthcare Corporation
buying, selling, and closing hospitals in Philadelphia, healthcare
corporations will put profits over the lives of Black patients.^6,7 When
our healthcare system becomes monopolized, we have fewer options, higher
costs, and more roadblocks to healthcare reform. Essentially, we have been
paying for CEOs’ profits through higher healthcare costs and our own
livelihoods.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still ravaging the world, we need accessible
and affordable healthcare more than ever. But even prior to the pandemic,
the U.S. spent the most for healthcare compared to other countries, and
that money has not translated to better health outcomes—especially for
Black people.^8 That’s why we need Congress to pass an antitrust package
that will limit monopoly power.
[ [link removed] ]DEMAND CONGRESS ACT
Oftentimes, we talk to our members like you, John, about
monopolies in Big Tech. But monopolies are not exclusive to Big Tech
companies, like when Amazon bought Whole Foods and Twitch.com.^9 Between
1995 and 2015, a series of mergers and acquisitions turned 60
pharmaceutical companies into just 10.^10 This monopolization of the
market has made medicine costs unaffordable for those who need it most.
The price of insulin, for example, has jumped at least 300% between 2009
and 2019, which disproportionately impacts Black people who, due to
historical inequities, face higher rates of diabetes.^11,12 Additionally,
residents in areas where the options in the health insurance markets are
dwindling from consolidations saw a 7% increase in premiums.^13
But it’s not just our health insurance prices that are affected. As health
insurers monopolize, hospitals do too, so that they can maintain their own
power. When corporations and hospitals alike play the game of Monopoly
with our health, we pay the price. Their consolidation of power forces us
to pay more for the healthcare and medicine we need.
[ [link removed] ]ADD YOUR NAME TO THE PETITION
Bad policies have led to unwieldy healthcare monopolies, but we have the
power to dismantle them. Our communities have long dealt with the
realities of monopolies. We can push for reform, and demand antitrust
policies that break up these monopolies, limit their power, and ensure
that companies’ policies prioritize racial justice. That’s why we’re
asking for your support in demanding Congress pass antitrust bills with
stronger racial justice language, such as the American Choice and
Innovation Online Act. Add your name to the petition demanding Congress
pass these bills and President Joe Biden sign them into law.
A better future is on the horizon. Color Of Change has been fighting
against the harm caused by monopolies for years. The more support we have
from our members, the more collective power we have, and the likelier it
will be that we can rein in monopoly power for good.
[ [link removed] ]TELL CONGRESS WE NEED ANTITRUST
[ [link removed] ]SUPPORT OUR ANTITRUST WORK
Until justice is real,
Jade Magnus Ogunnaike and the Color Of Change team
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References:
1. Khadijah Edwards and Mark Hugo Lopez, “Black Americans say coronavirus
has hit hard financially, but impact varies by education level, age,”
Pew Research Center, May 12, 2021,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
2. Shelby Livingston, “How 8 top healthcare execs scored massive paydays
despite the pandemic,” Insider, April 8, 2021,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
3. “Health Insurance & Monopoly,” Open Markets Institute,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
4. “Hospitals & Monopoly,” Open Markets Institute,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
5. “High Drug Prices & Monopoly,” Open Markets Institute,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
6. Richard Hamilton, “The Hahnemann University Hospital Closure and What
Matters: A Department Chair’s Perspective,” Academic Medicine, April
2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
7. “QuickFacts Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania,” United States Census
Bureau,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
8. Roosa Tikkanen, Melinda K. Adams, “U.S. Health Care from a Global
Perspective, 2019: Higher Spending, Worse Outcomes?” The Commonwealth
Fund, January 30, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
9. Robinson Meyer, “When Does Amazon Become a Monopoly?” The Atlantic,
June 15, 2017,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
10. Margaret Visnji, “Pharma Industry Merger and Acquisition Analysis 1995
to 2015,” Revenues and Profits, February 11, 2019,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
11. “National Diabetes Statistics Report 2020,” Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, August 28, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
12. Rachel Gillett and Shayanne Gal, “One chart reveals how the cost of
insulin has skyrocketed in the US, even though nothing about it has
changed,” Insider, September 18, 2019,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
13. Ibid.
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[ [link removed] ]Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black
folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Please
help keep our movement strong.
[ [link removed] ]Make a Donation
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