Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase have just raised the bar when it comes to healthcare. It's safe to say that Jamie Dimon, Jeff Bezos, and Warren Buffet just solidified their candidacies for the title of World's Best Boss, and the nearly 1 million combined employees will be reaping the benefits.
What's Going On?
It's no secret the cost of healthcare in the US is a growing problem. Prices are getting out of hand, and even with more companies being forced to provide health insurance for employees, health costs are still breaking the bank. Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan are looking to solve just that by providing affordable healthcare plans for all their US-based employees.
How It Will Be Accomplished
Well, it's not going to be an easy process, according to the founder and CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos.
“The healthcare system is complex, and we enter into this challenge open-eyed about the degree of difficulty. Hard as it might be, reducing healthcare’s burden on the economy while improving outcomes for employees and their families would be worth the effort. Success is going to require talented experts, a beginner’s mind, and a long-term orientation.”
Essentially, these three giants in their respective industries are coming together and pulling their resources to create their own healthcare company. It will be an independent company that's aim is not to make money, rather, it will only exist to serve the employees of each company.
According to the joint press release, Amazon, Berkshire, and Chase will be pulling their resources and brightest minds to create a healthcare company that focuses on technology solutions that will simplify healthcare for employees and their families, and provide "high quality and transparent healthcare" at an affordable price.
What's Next?
There are still a lot of details that need to be hammered out. As of right now, the 3 companies are in the "early planning stages." However, the new venture will be lead by a member of each company. From Berkshire Hathaway, Todd Combs, from JPMorgan Chase, Marvelle Sullivan Berchtold, and from Amazon, Beth Galetti.
More details will be released as headway is being made. As for now, it will be interesting to see how this new venture plays out and see exactly what it does to the world of healthcare. The news has already sent healthcare investors into a frenzy. Some of the biggest health carriers on the market, such as Anthem, Humana, and United Health saw stock prices plunge with the announcement this morning.