About the Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Partnership

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Posted By: Annmarie Budniak February 27, 2018

Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to partner on U.S. employee healthcare
Goal is to improve U.S. employee satisfaction while reducing overall costs.
Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase & Co. recently announced that they are partnering on ways to address healthcare for their U.S. employees, with the aim of improving employee satisfaction and reducing costs. The three companies, which bring their scale and complementary expertise to this long-term effort, will pursue this objective through an independent company that is free from profit-making incentives and constraints. The initial focus of the new company will be on technology solutions that will provide U.S. employees and their families with simplified, high-quality and transparent healthcare at a reasonable cost.

HealthBI President Scott McFarland Quoted in Becker’s Hospital CFO Report on the Amazon, JPMorgan, Berkshire Partnership
HealthBI president Scott McFarland was quoted in a February 7, 2018 online article in Becker’s Hospital CFO Report entitled, “What the Amazon, JPMorgan, Berkshire partnership means for healthcare: 35 executives respond.” You can also hear more from McFarland this week on Healthcare NOW Radio’s show, Harlow on Healthcare. Host David Harlow (@healthblawg), attorney and award-winning blogger, & McFarland discuss how he leads HealthBI’s health information technology platforms and contact center solutions for providers, payers, and “payviders”. Listeners can catch Harlow on Healthcare weekdays at 8:30 am, 4:30 pm and 12:30 am ET.

Expert Advice For The Corporate Titans Taking On Health Care
Many have questions and concerns about the Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase & Co. partnership. What does all of this mean and how can it be successful when so many other initiatives have fallen short? Kaiser Health News (@KHNews) asked a variety of health policy experts their thoughts on this venture, and what advice they would offer these CEOs as they go forward. Some of the advice has been edited for clarity and length.

Readers And Tweeters Add Two Cents On Amazon Venture To Repackage Health Care
Kaiser Health News’ readers give their thoughts and feedback on the advice offered by health policy experts in the KHN article Expert Advice For The Corporate Titans Taking On Health Care.

A tale of two tech titans hoping to help healthcare
David Harlow (@healthblawg) compares and analyzes Apples recent foray into the personal health record market and the Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan Chase new joint venture said to focus on technological solutions to lower healthcare costs for their employees. How do these announcements relate to each other and to other developments in the healthcare arena? Hear more from Harlow on his Healthcare NOW Radio show, Harlow on Healthcare.

Can three of America’s most innovative business minds really transform health care?
The fact is, no one — probably including Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett and Jamie Dimon — knows how Amazon and Company will provide their 1.1 million employees with “simplified, high-quality and transparent health care at a reasonable cost.” Conspiracy theorists might even wonder if three wily tycoons have just launched a brilliant ploy to get all of us to crowdsource ideas that will help them figure out how to remake health care. The Hill (@thehill) speculates about the plans these three companies may have in mind.

Amazon Causes Major Heartburn At JPMorgan — And Won’t Disrupt Healthcare
Dan Munro (@danmunro), Forbes contributor, author and recent guest on Healthcare NOW Radio’s This Just In Radio Show, weighs in on the partnership, “The intentionally vague announcement earlier this week by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan has already caused major heartburn – at JPMorgan. Not surprisingly, the original announcement on Tuesday prompted immediate (often wild) speculation around how Amazon’s enormous tech prowess and global scale could finally disrupt U.S. healthcare (which measured as a business unit is about the size of Germany). The shock waves not only hit the stock prices of bellwether health insurance carriers, but according to an article earlier today, JPMorgan Chief Executive James Dimon had to personally calm jittery clients in their healthcare investment-banking segment.”

CVS Health CEO On Amazon-Berkshire Threat: We’ve Got This
Forbes (@Forbes) contributor, Bruce Japsen reports on CVS Health chief executive officer Larry Merlo’s take on the Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase & Co. partnership. Merlo says he sees the coming healthcare company created by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase & Co. as more aspirational to what the pharmacy giant will actually accomplish after its merger with Aetna is complete.

What Could Amazon’s Approach to Health Care Look Like?
Harvard Business Journal (@HarvardBiz) reports it is clear from some of its recent moves that Amazon sees the 18% of U.S. GDP dedicated to health care as fertile ground for expansion. Consider its decision to pursue the market for pharmaceutical distribution, or the recent announcement that it will be teaming up with Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan Chase to create joint solutions for reducing the health care spending of more than 1 million employees and their families.

Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Are Going to Fix Health Care—Somehow
The surprising trio of the nation’s largest online retailer, largest bank by assets, and most famous investor (Warren Buffett, the chief executive of Berkshire) riding to the rescue of the beleaguered health system already rocked insurance stocks and thrilled health-care experts who have long dreamed of a technological solution to “bend the curve” of inexorably rising medical costs. However The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) notes, it’s not altogether clear what this company will be, how much money each corporation will commit to it, or whether it is meant to eventually provide services for workers at other companies. It’s also not clear how the venture will financially benefit the three corporations.