Danielle, imagine you wake up with a headache. It's a fairly common experience (especially these days), and one that shouldn't accidentally put you in the middle of a web of corporate greed. But it does. Let's say you go to the doctor. And it's Oak Street Health because that's close by. Well, Oak Street Health is owned by CVS. That's right — your doctor is owned by CVS. And let's say that doctor prescribes you medicine. So you go to your pharmacy, CVS. That medicine is covered by your insurance, Aetna. And who owns Aetna? Right again, CVS. But wait, there's a middleman between your pharmacy and insurance company that helps you negotiate prices to lower costs: CVS Caremark. Who owns the middleman? You got it — CVS. CVS may own your pharmacy. CVS may own your doctor. CVS may own your insurance company. CVS may own the middleman between your insurance company and your pharmacy. One giant company is in charge of the whole supply chain, and you better believe they are taking a cut every step of the way. That means prices get higher and higher, and patients left paying more and more. To fix our country's inflating health care crisis, we have to break up big medicine once and for all. By doing that, we will lower health care costs for you and your family. And I have a bipartisan bill to get that done. Add your name today to be a grassroots co-sponsor of the Break Up Big Medicine Act. Together, we can show Congress that Americans are tired of paying more for worse care. Look, it's not just CVS. If you use United Health Group for insurance, you may have had to deal with a pharmacy benefit manager called Optum RX, which is supposed to negotiate prescription drug benefits and decide which drugs are covered by United. Guess who owns Optum RX? United Health Group. They also own Optum, which is a health services company. Just as health care prices are set to spike this year following Trump's Big, Ugly Bill, this corporate consolidation ensures that a handful of companies are set up to profit even more. When our bipartisan bill becomes law, companies that operate as one giant health conglomerate and violate the rules must comply within a year, and regulators, state attorneys general, and even private citizens can take action to enforce the rules. For decades, policies have encouraged these mega-mergers, letting companies stack the deck to maximize profits while Americans pay more for worse care. We're finally taking steps to level the playing field. Add your name today to be a grassroots co-sponsor of the Break Up Big Medicine Act. Thanks for being a part of this, Elizabeth  | 
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