With the Senate's confirmation of Alvaro Bedoya to the Federal Trade Commission on May 11, Democrats now have a 3-2 majority in the FTC, which will likely lead to heightened scrutiny of competition in healthcare, Paul Keckley, PhD, wrote May 16 in The Keckley Report.
With each commissioner serving a seven-year term, Democrats will be the majority in the FTC until at least January 2025. If Democrats lose control of the House and the Senate in November, one of the few cards they have to play is through the FTC, he said.
With the Democratic majority, healthcare organizations should prepare themselves for more transparency and regulatory scrutiny, Dr. Keckley said.
"That means independent board members will be liable for oversights and willful noncompliance and management teams will be held to a higher level of accountability," Dr. Keckley said. "That means increased fines for non-compliance and calls for major reforms. That means the FTC will be a headache to healthcare organizations unable to demonstrate effectively the alignment of their growth strategies with enhanced competition and protections for consumers."