From opening cashier-less grocery stores to running its own (award-winning) movie and television show production company (not to mention the online marketplace thing), Amazon seems to have its hand in everything these days, and its reach is only getting longer. The tech giant has just announced that it will be partnering with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to solve the issue of U.S. employee healthcare.
In an effort to take a fresh look at the problems that the current healthcare system is facing, top executives from the three corporations will form a new company with the aim of “reducing healthcare’s burden on the economy while improving outcomes for employees and their families,” according to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The company, still unnamed, will operate freely from profit-making incentives and constraints.
While the initial goal will be to provide high-quality health services at lower costs for the U.S.-based employees of Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan, JPMorgan CEO and President James Dimon said that eventually the services could extend to all Americans. Although the company is still in an infantile stage (no long-term management structure or location of an operating headquarters have yet been announced) the organizers feel confident that their combined tech solutions and broad resources will enable them to reach their goals.
The market has already shown its confidence in the plan. Amazon’s share prices rose 8 percent following the announcement, while the stocks of existing health insurance providers like Aetna, Anthem, and UnitedHealth took a big tumble.
