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Huskers
Starting Rotation
Joined: 28 Jun 2011
Posts: 481
Location: Nebraska
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 Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2018 10:17 am Post subject: Amazon and Berkshire team up for new insurance company |
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| Quote: | Health care costs are "a hungry tapeworm on the American economy," Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett says, and now his firm is teaming up with Amazon and JPMorgan Chase to create a new company with the goal of providing high-quality health care for their U.S. employees at a lower cost.
The new company will be "free from profit-making incentives and constraints" as it tries to find ways to cut costs and boost satisfaction with the health care plan for employees of Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase. The trio unveiled their new venture in a news release. |
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/30/581804474/amazon-berkshire-hathaway-and-jpmorgan-chase-launch-new-healthcare-company?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
| Quote: | It was enough to sink health-care stocks. Express Scripts Holding Co. and CVS Health Corp., which manage pharmacy benefits, slumped 6.9 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively. Health insurers such as Cigna Corp. and Anthem Inc. and biotechnology companies also dropped.
The group announced the news in the very early stages because it plans to hire a CEO and start partnering with other organizations, according to a person familiar with the matter. The effort would be focused internally first, and the companies would bring their data and bargaining power to bear on lowering health-care costs, the person said. Potential ways to bring down costs include providing more transparency over the prices for doctor visits and lab tests, as well as by enabling direct purchasing of some medical items, the person said. |
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-30/amazon-berkshire-jpmorgan-to-set-up-a-health-company-for-staff
Looks right now that it's only for their employees. If successful, I wonder if they will roll this out to the public.
I'm glad there's at least an attempt by the public sector for real health care reform. These three men that are spearheading this are very successful business men, interested to see how what they can do with healthcare. |
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Ujah's Goat
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Joined: 01 Jun 2016
Posts: 1417
Location: Babylon
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| Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2018 8:31 am Post subject: |
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| Very interesting. It seems in the US as though education, government, now healthcare is led by the private sector. Is that good or bad? |
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governator
Retired Number
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
Posts: 25092
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| Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2018 9:41 am Post subject: |
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| This can change health care delivery as we know it. I won't be surprise if this leads to explosion in health techs. Conventional brick and mortar clinics might be replaced by wide spread telemedicine very quick. If they also move into pharmaceutical and produce no-profit generic meds... I expect war from the pharm businesses (hope legislators hold strong from lobby assault). More competition = win for patients |
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Dr. Funkbot
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Joined: 24 Sep 2001
Posts: 8188
Location: Eagle Rock
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| Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2018 11:49 am Post subject: |
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If it is really a not for profit company it will be a big improvement over the other carriers. Not sure why or how health care should be a for-profit industry.
Hope this works out because right now in the US we pay way more for health insurance than every other fist world country and we only have mid-pack to bottom level care because wall street has to milk out their obscene bonuses on the backs of sick people.
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slavavov
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Joined: 03 Oct 2003
Posts: 8352
Location: Santa Monica
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| Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2018 6:01 pm Post subject: |
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| Ujah's Goat wrote: | | Very interesting. It seems in the US as though education, government, now healthcare is led by the private sector. Is that good or bad? |
It often turns out to be bad, mainly because of greed. Health care, for profit private prisons, charter schools that have a curriculum based on Evangelical Christian dogma aren't good because it's led to crony capitalism, where because it's the private sector it gives the illusion that we have a choice, when in reality all those choices have the same downsides. Plus these companies and industries tend to lobby the govt to pass laws that benefit them but hurt others.
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