Americans are struggling with high costs on their grocery, medical, utility, insurance, rent, and other bills. Many people are getting hit by junk fees and sky-high rates on credit cards and other loan products. And when it comes to illegal practices, federal law enforcement and regulators aren’t doing much to stop them. 

Today, we are announcing a new initiative by state attorneys general to rein in spiraling costs that are busting the budgets of American families and businesses. The effort will work to root out unfair and anticompetitive practices, push back against misguided and corrupt federal policies, and support honest businesses that play by the rules. 

That’s why state attorneys general are sharpening their focus on ways to lower the cost of both everyday purchases and monthly bills. Here’s some of the urgent concerns people are facing and how state attorneys general are working to fix them. 

Housing 

The cost of housing, including rent and mortgage payments, is one of the biggest pain points in our economy. Mortgage delinquencies are ticking up, and foreclosures are on the rise. For tenants, rent is eating up more income and driving families deeper into debt. 

State attorneys general have already taken a series of actions to block price-fixing and collusion, defend and enforce rent stabilization laws, eliminate deceptive rental schemes, target security deposit abuses and inflated rental application fees, and protect against housing discrimination. 

Our new effort will look to equip state attorneys general and their teams with more ways to utilize federal and state laws to lower the cost of housing for tenants, current homeowners, and those looking to move.  

Energy and Utilities 

Electricity and gas bills have skyrocketed across the country. Utilities are asking for even more rate increases that will push bills up even further. This isn’t just a problem for families; it’s a real concern for small businesses, too. With increased demand from data centers, costs could keep going up. 

State attorneys general have already started to take action by challenging rate hikes proposed to utility regulators, cracking down on anticompetitive market manipulation, and halting scams that push up the price of energy.   

We’ll be working with state attorneys general to deploy their legal tools under federal and state law, to detect practices that squash competition, and stop exorbitant rate hikes.     

Food and Groceries 

Over the last year, Americans have continued to see the cost of food and groceries go up and up. While droughts and disease can lead to temporary price spikes, Americans are worried that some companies are using these as excuses to raise prices across-the-board. 

Last year, the Federal Trade Commission was working closely with state attorneys general to investigate and stop problematic practices in the food industry, including work to stop illegal supermarket mergers. But the FTC is now sitting on the sidelines when it comes to unlawful activity that push up the price of groceries.  

Fortunately, state attorneys general are working to stop unfair and anticompetitive price hikes. They’re also making sure the food industry isn’t taking advantage of small stores, restaurants, and farmers. 

Some states have targeted price gouging. Others have launched broad inquiries into a range of grocery items. Many state attorneys general filed lawsuits to successfully block a supermarket megamerger to keep grocery prices in check. 

But we know there’s more we can do. We’ll be looking at ways to help states block surveillance pricing and price gouging, detect deceptive shrinkflation, and investigate price-fixing.   

Loans, Insurance, and Financial Products 

For most American families and businesses, taking out a loan isn’t an option – it’s a reality. But many are wondering why the rates and fees for many financial products are so high.  

The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has stopped enforcing the law, allowing crime and fraud to drain people’s pocketbooks. State attorneys general are looking to bring actions under federal law to prosecute bad actors. We’ll be working with them to build on this work as they develop policy guidance, regulations, and seek redress for victims of wrongdoing. 

While we all know people are struggling with car payments, student loan payments, and mortgage payments, there’s growing anxiety about the high cost of insurance.  

The cost of insurance is rising faster than inflation. For families, this is taking a bigger and bigger bite out of a budget. For businesses, it makes it harder to even get started. It’s not just auto insurance, it’s also property insurance, renters insurance, business liability insurance, and, of course, health insurance.  

To make matters worse, when people have legitimate claims, they often go through an endless back-and-forth to get it paid. As insurance costs mount, we’ll be finding new ways for state attorneys general to block rate increases premised on false data, challenge sketchy and discriminatory underwriting, and ensure legitimate claims get paid promptly. 

Medical bills 

Americans spend more on health care per person than almost any other country. In addition to the high cost of insurance, many families deal with enormous, unexpected bills for services and drugs. 

This year, federal law enforcement agencies like the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have halted activity that helps patients. But state attorneys general have tools to rein in abuses that drive up costs.  

For example, state attorneys general are taking actions to block anticompetitive conduct and kickbacks in the “pharmacy benefit manager” industry. States are working to stem the tide of private equity takeovers that are pushing up costs and driving down quality of care. They’re taking action against misconduct by pharmaceutical giants. States are also specifically working to stop harmful medical billing and debt collection practices.  

And we know that lowering costs will require more than just stopping bad practices. We’ll be working to help state attorneys general develop a stronger arsenal of legal and policy tools to ensure our health care industry is working for patients and providers, rather than the middlemen who wield power over the system.  

Over the past year, we’ve seen how policies in Washington are raising the cost of almost everything. State attorneys general need all of our help to make sure families and businesses can stay afloat.