Texas sues Wisconsin-based Epic Systems, accusing it of running a monopoly

The state of Texas in a new lawsuit claims Verona-based Epic Systems is running an illegal monopoly and restricting parents’ access to their children’s medical records.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the lawsuit against Epic on Wednesday, accusing the company of using its outsized influence over electronic health records to snuff out competition and limit access to data. 

The suit accuses Epic of running an “anticompetitive playbook” to maintain its health records “monopoly.” The suit says its goal is to “dismantle Epic’s monopoly” and hold the company accountable for restricting competition.

“We will not allow woke corporations to undermine the sacred rights of parents to protect and oversee their kids’ medical well-being,” Paxton said in a statement announcing the Epic litigation. “This lawsuit aims to ensure that Texans can readily obtain access to these records and benefit from the lower costs and innovation that come from a truly competitive electronic health records market.”

But an Epic spokesperson says Texas’ action is “flawed and misguided” because it fails to understand the company’s business model and position in the market. The company maintains it doesn’t determine parental access to health records.

Paxton, a prominent Republican who is running for U.S. Senate in Texas, previously filed at least 100 lawsuits against the Biden administration and tried to overturn 2020 presidential election results in other states, including Wisconsin. He was acquitted in an impeachment trial in 2023 after allegedly abusing his office to protect a political donor.

The Texas lawsuit comes as Epic has faced antitrust lawsuits over the last year, in which competitors have accused the company of trying to prevent competition.

The suit says patient data is the backbone of the U.S. health care system and that Epic has “amassed control over patient data” by locking hospitals into the company’s electronic health records system.

That’s allowed Epic to “insert itself as a gatekeeper,” controlling who can access patient data, when they can access it and the terms they can access it under, the suit says.

According to the lawsuit, Epic’s database houses more than 325 million patient records, representing more than 90 percent of all U.S. citizens. 

Once a hospital is in an Epic database, the suit alleges “it is almost impossible to get out” because switching electronic health records providers can take up to a decade and cost more than $1 billion. 

The suit also alleges that Epic delays or restricts access to health records by potential competitors and “coerces customers” into not switching to competitor applications by “imposing massive penalty fees” on hospitals that try to use competitors’ products. 

“Epic holds its customers’ data hostage, limiting its customers’ access to their own data if they work with any company that Epic deems a competitor,” the suit states. 

Beyond allegedly stifling competition, the suit argues that Epic’s conduct also harms patients. The lawsuit says Epic has sold software to Texas health care providers that is “preconfigured to remove parental access to their minor children’s” records, which the state argues violates Texas law.

In a statement, an Epic spokesperson said tens of millions of Americans depend on its software every day.

“Health systems using Epic shared information with almost 1,000 patient-facing apps 2 billion times in the past year,” the statement reads. “Epic does not determine parental access to children’s medical records. Decisions about parental access to children’s medical records are made by doctors and health systems.”

Texas is asking for a court order requiring Epic to “cease all unlawful conduct” and for a ruling requiring the company to pay damages and civil penalties.