Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Epic Systems, the electronic medical records conglomerate behind the widely used MyChart platform, alleging the company has built and maintained a de facto monopoly in the electronic health records (EHR) industry and made it harder for parents to access their children’s medical information.
The lawsuit, filed December 10 in Tarrant County district court, claims Epic “inserted” itself as a “gatekeeper” of patient data by “locking up” hospitals and healthcare systems into its EHR products. According to the filing, this structure allows Epic to dictate “when and which individuals can access” patient records—a practice the state argues harms patients and stifles competition.
Epic’s reach in healthcare is substantial. The company reports on its website that its systems hold the electronic records of “more than 325 million patients.” Court documents note that Epic’s software represents more than 90 percent of all U.S. citizens, a footprint Texas says reflects an industry-wide dominance that has become a barrier for competitors. Major medical networks in Texas, including Texas Children’s Hospital and Memorial Hermann, along with smaller clinics, rely on the company’s EHR tools and the MyChart patient portal.
The state’s lawsuit emphasizes that Epic’s data network and business strategy have been “inordinately successful,” arguing that the company’s control over the flow of patient information amounts to monopoly behavior. Although the complaint focuses broadly on patient access, Paxton singled out concerns about how these practices may affect parents seeking full access to their children’s records. He said the lawsuit is part of a “broader effort to stop electronic health record vendors from unlawfully restricting parental access to minors’ medical records.”
In a written statement to The Texan, a spokesperson for Epic pushed back. The company said it views Paxton’s action as “flawed and misguided by its failure to understand both Epic’s business model and position in the market and the enormous contributions our company has made to our nation's healthcare system illustrated by products like MyChart — software that tens of millions of Americans depend on every day.” Epic also noted that it facilitates extensive medical data sharing, saying, “Every month, we improve quality of care by helping providers see a more comprehensive picture of their patient through over 725 million record exchanges—more than any other electronic health records vendor—and over half of these are with non-Epic systems.”
The company also argued that it does not control parental access policies. According to its statement, “Epic does not determine parental access to children’s medical records,” adding that “decisions about parental access to children’s medical records are made by doctors and health systems.”
Paxton, however, framed the issue as part of a larger battle over parental rights. “We will not allow woke corporations to undermine the sacred rights of parents to protect and oversee their kids’ medical well-being,” he said in a press release. He added that the state’s goal is to ensure 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.”
The lawsuit seeks judicial action to curb what Texas argues are anti-competitive practices and to guarantee parents — and all patients — more straightforward access to their own health information. The case now heads to the courts as Epic continues to defend the structure and impact of its EHR systems.
