U.S. healthcare bloat faces new triple threat

Love them or hate then, Jeff Bezos, Jamie Dimon and Warren Buffett are powerful men.
Powerful men who spend billions a year on healthcare for their employees.
Men who see what the rising costs and lowering quality of healthcare are doing to this country.
Obviously deciding to take matters into their hands, as the government cannot or will not act in the best interests of the American people, and America itself.

Of course they want to improve healthcare for the more than one million of their employees, but if they can make it work for them...can it also help the costs of the rest of the country?

One thing for sure: the healthcare industry was less than happy with the news as health related stocks took a hit today.

The United States spends about 18 percent of GDP on healthcare, about twice as much as most other developed countries. Yet it receives little, ranking poorly on measures of care like infant mortality and efficiency such as administrative costs.

Much of the burden falls upon business, as about half of all Americans receive health insurance through their own or a family member’s employer. And while premiums are rising, insurance is covering less. Spending per privately insured person rose 4.6 percent in 2016, while the use of most services fell, according to a new report from the Healthcare Cost Institute.
.....

They say their new firm will use technology and not seek profit. For what it’s worth, Amazon has lots of logistics experience and is mulling expansion into the pharmacy business. Berkshire may not be a health insurer but it understands underwriting. And JPMorgan knows all about payments. Combined, they have well over 1 million employees worldwide.

Reuters story

I hope this isn't just lip service, and that they take on the insurance companies, drug makers and all medical lobbyists who keep prices spiraling.

Details of the new company were sketchy, with principals of Amazon, Berkshire and J.P. Morgan noting that the way it will work remains to be seen. They're hoping that their sheer size will help bring the necessary scale and resources to tackle the issue.

www.cnbc.com...

variety.com...
www.bloomberg.com...

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.

www.theatlantic.com...

It won't be easy...and it may not succeed...but at least someone is trying.....

Trump also said prescription medications will go down, though I wished I heard marijuana legalization. Either way, not good for the "bloat" either.

it just sucks that market currently exist in a way that only they can do something about it

do you like living in a country where only the wealthiest handful of people are capable of initiating change?

I'm a Libertarian, I think that pretty well answers that!

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

The problems with our country are not rocket science. The lobbyist convince the politicians to pass laws creating cartels and monopolies in exchange for campaign financing. We have no free markets in this country which is why the healthcare companies can charge whatever they want and then the insurance providers raise rates. It's all just a scam.

The owners of this country do NOT want to give you healthcare:

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
Love them or hate then, Jeff Bezos, Jamie Dimon and Warren Buffett are powerful men.
Powerful men who spend billions a year on healthcare for their employees.
Men who see what the rising costs and lowering quality of healthcare are doing to this country.
Obviously deciding to take matters into their hands, as the government cannot or will not act in the best interests of the American people, and America itself.

Of course they want to improve healthcare for the more than one million of their employees, but if they can make it work for them...can it also help the costs of the rest of the country?

One thing for sure: the healthcare industry was less than happy with the news as health related stocks took a hit today.

The United States spends about 18 percent of GDP on healthcare, about twice as much as most other developed countries. Yet it receives little, ranking poorly on measures of care like infant mortality and efficiency such as administrative costs.

Much of the burden falls upon business, as about half of all Americans receive health insurance through their own or a family member’s employer. And while premiums are rising, insurance is covering less. Spending per privately insured person rose 4.6 percent in 2016, while the use of most services fell, according to a new report from the Healthcare Cost Institute.
.....

They say their new firm will use technology and not seek profit. For what it’s worth, Amazon has lots of logistics experience and is mulling expansion into the pharmacy business. Berkshire may not be a health insurer but it understands underwriting. And JPMorgan knows all about payments. Combined, they have well over 1 million employees worldwide.

Reuters story

I hope this isn't just lip service, and that they take on the insurance companies, drug makers and all medical lobbyists who keep prices spiraling.

Details of the new company were sketchy, with principals of Amazon, Berkshire and J.P. Morgan noting that the way it will work remains to be seen. They're hoping that their sheer size will help bring the necessary scale and resources to tackle the issue.

www.cnbc.com...

variety.com...
www.bloomberg.com...

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.

www.theatlantic.com...

It won't be easy...and it may not succeed...but at least someone is trying.....

True free market solutions are the only way to make any real change. I'm sure they can come up with some good ideas and they certainly have the capital to get it off the ground. The biggest issue will be getting regulators out of the way.

I'd be Amazon and Microsoft could self-insure fairly cheaply given their numbers of employees if they didn't have to cover every little jammed toe and wart removal forced by regulations.

a reply to: Edumakated

these companies are going to run our entire country is that what you guys want?

a reply to: toysforadults

Corporations already ARE the government. Does it really matter which ones are in charge?????

originally posted by: toysforadults
a reply to: Edumakated

these companies are going to run our entire country is that what you guys want?

No, but if these guys have a better ideas and the resources to get them implemented I am all for it. I don't know why some of you are so envious of wealthy successful people. You never give them credit for all the philanthropic things that they do.

Given what they probably pay in healthcare every year, I'm sure they see an opportunity.

As long as Doctors and Hospitals COLLUDE with each other to keep their prices SKY HIGH, healthcare costs will never go down by much.

If you check you'll see that every physician in your town charges about the same insanely high price for a surgery, in any given category. Hospitals charge the same too. It's by DESIGN.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

So, I'm curious. If these are big biz folks, who makes their fortunes in the markets and partnerships, what happened?

They could easily become large shareholders of healthcare and dictate their provisions. If they havn't, why?

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

If this doesn't help everyone, it will help no one.

When an uninsured person needs a bone set and cast and the $5,000 bill goes uncollected it is tacked on to other patients.

The only way to solve the issue is either outlaw insurance and everyone pays "cash".

Or a universal system where everyone is covered and a tax is levied against goods and services.

Universal systems seem to control costs better than the US system, a quick internet search for pharma drugs shows the folly of the US medical system.

originally posted by: Edumakated

originally posted by: toysforadults
a reply to: Edumakated

these companies are going to run our entire country is that what you guys want?

No, but if these guys have a better ideas and the resources to get them implemented I am all for it.

I have to agree.
They see the costs rising....and I'm sure they hear their employees complaining that they get less care for more.

You'd think every large corporation would want to help out with this venture.

a reply to: seasonal

They have to start with their own employees.
IF it works there......others will follow.
Hopefully, Medicare will jump on board.

.... I hope they do better than the government's false attempt to improve medical coverage.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

They can start with their employees, but how do they segregate their employees from the rest of the poor and uninsured that tend to raise prices by using services and not paying?

I look forward to watching the show. There are many many other countries that have figured this out. But what the Hell let's re-invent the wheel.

a reply to: seasonal

I Actually wondered what would happen when they remove their employees from the pool of the rest of the country.
I think I read that Amazon uses Blue Cross, for example.

We'll have to wait and see, but doing nothing isn't working.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

I love Warren Buffet. Brilliant. I bet the other two, who're kind of scummy, just went along with this because he knows his stuff.

That's some Andrew Carnegie thinking right there. I hope more billionaires follow suit.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe


Could they remove themselves from the US's monopolistic system? How?

The only way that comes to mind is setting up a google hospital for only their staff. Even then that wouldn't insulate them from confiscatory pharma costs and medical equipment costs.

And as an employee a company run hospital is a terrible idea. Look into asbestos and company run hospitals (Johns Mansfield), ugly stuff.

a reply to: Look2theSacredHeart

Can we really trust that these billionaire guys are doing this for "philanthropic" reasons? Because they care about their employees?

They want to save/make more money and they think this is a good way to do it.

I would trust them like any politician. We need changes, but these guys? Nah. But, can't make it much worse than it is-and they'll surely save alot of money for themselves.

I'm kind of thinking that if these corporations self insure, they might cause some major rate hikes for the rest of the employers that are providing health insurance. Amazon usually just shuffles money, buying from other providers and selling it to make profits. Quite a bit of their products are shipped by their suppliers direct.

I don't think this will work out very well with present laws governing healthcare.