Phil Kerpen
President
1155 15th St NW, Suite 525 Washington, DC 20005
Phil Kerpen is the president of American Commitment, a free market advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. He also serves as a principal for the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, an organization "to educate policy makers and the public about government policies that ... maximize economic growth and equitable prosperity in America and around the world."[1] Kerpen previously served as vice president of policy at Americans for Prosperity and as an analyst and researcher for the Free Enterprise Fund, Club for Growth, and The Cato Institute.
Topics
Appearances (1)
2026-07-13
The Hidden Drivers of Hospital ConsolidationIn the latest episode of the Health Policy Podcast, Phil Kerpen, President of American Commitment, discusses the rising costs of healthcare and the impact of market consolidation. He highlights the influence of hospital systems and insurance companies on healthcare pricing, emphasizing the need for reforms to increase competition and transparency in the industry. Kerpen advocates for changes to regulatory barriers and payment policies to foster a more free-market approach to healthcare.
Notable quotes
“We need people to control their own healthcare dollars. We want choice and competition.”
“Hospitals get a lot of explicit subsidies, but they also get a lot of implicit subsidies through barriers to entry.”
“Healthcare lobbyists spend about six times what defense industry lobbyists spend right now at the federal level.”
“The starting point was probably when Medicare and Medicaid were started in the '60s under Lyndon Johnson.”
“If we don't fix the drivers of this consolidation, what are you really gonna be choosing between?”
“We've gotta make it much, much easier to create an independent physician's practice, an imaging center, a surgical center, clinic, and a hospital.”
