Seattle / Omaha / New York, US, January 30 — Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan announce plans to build a company with the objective to reduce healthcare costs for their employees. This announcement directly impacted the stock market. Insurance companies just as well as pharmacy companies see a negative effect as the news spread. Trista Kelley, from Bloomberg Markets, called it a “bloodbath” in her tweet.
Absolute bloodbath in insurance and pharmacy stocks in premarket after #Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan announce plans to start a healthcare company https://t.co/fEBbqaaBpl pic.twitter.com/C6uNyeqFta
— Trista Kelley (@trista_kelley) January 30, 2018
Who’s behind this?
These plans are pushed out by Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway) and Jamie Dimon (JPMorgan Chase & Co). Considering the US healthcare system to be inferior, they want to build this new company as a not-for-profit organization.
Next to the impending competition of what a combination of these three giants could mean to any market, the vision to serve their future customers without making a profit off them, further endangers the current operations of companies in the healthcare industry, therewith the revenue, and at the end of the line, their worth on the stock markets.
How could that work?
Even if this new venture would “only” take care of all three company’s staff, this would account for more than 500,000 employees in the US. The sheer size of their endeavor allows them to negotiate rates directly with manufacturers of drugs and other medicine makers rather than paying for dealer prices in the middle of it all.
It’s not declared but if they decide to offer this service to anyone out there, this might shake the markets even more. Perhaps Amazon Prime comes with a free healthcare plan in the future?
“Our people want transparency, knowledge and control when it comes to managing their healthcare”
Word from the leadership
“The ballooning costs of healthcare act as a hungry tapeworm on the American economy. Our group does not come to this problem with answers. But we also do not accept it as inevitable. Rather, we share the belief that putting our collective resources behind the country’s best talent can, in time, check the rise in health costs while concurrently enhancing patient satisfaction and outcomes,” said Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO, Warren Buffett.
“The healthcare system is complex, and we enter into this challenge open-eyed about the degree of difficulty,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder, and CEO. “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.”
“Our people want transparency, knowledge, and control when it comes to managing their healthcare,” said Jamie Dimon, Chairman, and CEO of JPMorgan Chase. “The three of our companies have extraordinary resources, and our goal is to create solutions that benefit our US employees, their families and, potentially, all Americans,” he added.
YouTube: Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan Health-Care Partnership is ‘Brilliant’, Says Kirkpatrick
Photo credit: DonkeyHotey
Source: Business Wire
Editorial notice: Business Wire, a press release platform, is a Berkshire Hathaway company. The source information might be biased. The quotes in the article are provided as part of a public press release.
