September 2021

The Federal Trade Commission made public the findings from its inquiry into past acquisitions by the largest technology platforms’ that did not require reporting to antitrust authorities at the FTC and the Department of Justice. The inquiry analyzed the terms, scope, structure, and purpose of these exempted transactions under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act and the FTC's reporting requirements by Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2019. These companies comprise the top five US companies by market capitalization.

Across the country during the pandemic, the same pattern played out as federal and state regulators issued scores of waivers to telehealth access and coverage rules, making it easier for hospitals, health centers and clinics to offer a wider range of remote services and be reimbursed for delivering them. Yet a question that remains to be answered is how many rules will tighten once the public health emergency is over. There are signs of support for telehealth; Congress is considering legislation that would make some changes permanent.