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JPMorgan Chase, Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway have announced that they are creating a new health care entity, Axios’ Pro Rata newsletter reports. “The health care industry was already beside itself over the prospect that Amazon, on its own, might enter the pharmacy business,” the report states.
Indeed, Woonsocket-based CVS Health’s December purchase of insurance company Aetna for $69 billion was considered the result of these Amazon-driven fears.
On Jan. 30, when the news about this newest heath care organization broke, CVS Health’s shares dropped nearly six percent.
Some analysts argue that other competitors have nothing to fear.
“[Amazon, JP Morgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway] have nothing at this point, no health plan or network of providers,” said Oppenheimer analyst Mohan Naidu in a report for The Street. “But they are disrupting the ecosystem of healthcare by saying that the new entity won’t be focused on profit, which will disrupt margins for the middlemen.”
As always, time will tell.
