Warren Targets Corporate Consolidation: 'A Handful of CEOs Dictate Our Choices'

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is warning that growing corporate consolidation in the US economy is giving a small group of powerful companies and CEOs too much influence over Americans' everyday choices. According to Warren, when a handful of companies control the economy, they effectively dictate what consumers watch on TV, which doctors they can see, what they eat, online safety for their children, and even where they live.

Citing UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) and CVS Health Corp (CVS) as examples of vertical integration, Warren is backing the bipartisan Patients Before Monopolies Act, which would prohibit common ownership of pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacies. This bill could increase competition and lower drug prices, according to supporters.

Warren's comments come on the heels of a recent critique by herself and Mark Cuban of the US healthcare system for its rising costs, corporate consolidation, and incentives that burden patients and employers. Cuban specifically accused large healthcare companies of exploiting industry rules and argued that breaking up vertically integrated firms could improve competition and efficiency.