Posted on 02/01/2018 4:10:06 PM PST by Joe Dallas
Amazon has disrupted fashion, books, furniture, food, cloud-based storage services, and much else besides. Now, it’s coming for one of the biggest, most complex industries in the US: healthcare.
Today (Jan. 30), Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan announced a vague but market-moving plan to launch an independent company that will offer healthcare services to the companies’ employees at a lower cost. The venture, which will be managed by executives from the firms, will be run more like a non-profit, than a for-profit entity.
The market value of 10 large, listed health insurance and pharmacy stocks 1 dropped by a combined $30 billion in the first two hours of trading. At the time of writing, insurer MetLife was the hardest hit, down nearly 9% for the day.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare all disrupted the market. I’d argue that none of those have been good for it.
I refuse to do business with Amazon. I’ve been free of them for about 2 years. Bezos spews his liberal bs though the Washington Post so I refuse to use them. Yeah, I know I am a lone voice in the wilderness.
“Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare all disrupted the market. I’d argue that none of those have been good for it.”
Yes, but you may want to consider that all the examples you provided are examples of the government’s manipulation of a market.
In the relevant case, which is the posted article, it is private industry introducing new market options.
While you any not use Amazon, you benefit from Amazon’s existence by the vendors you do utilize who must lower prices and increase service levels in order to compete with Amazon.
It’s called competition. I see no reason to protect these insurers any more than a company that builds and operates shopping malls. Barry did what he could to protect and ally himself with these insurers. I suggest they react to this development by looking for more efficient business methods.
Will Amazon have complete access to its employees health records? That’s kinda’ creepy.
If I refused to do business with companies I disagree with I’d have to grow my own food and weave my own clothing from jungle vines.
exactly.
as a recovering strategy consultant, I USED to guide my clients to explore the business models that, if successful, would put them out of business via market success.
if a better Healthcare model exists ...
What about privacy though? Would Amazon have all of their employees’ health records?
So Bezos, et al, will become the go-to healthcare provider? Does anyone not think this is to eventually get back to Socialized Medicine? One healthcare provider who starts out with low monthly payments, until he bankrupts all the rest of the healthcare providers. The we are left with ONE! One, like Government Care..........who doesn’t think that more expensive treatments will be withheld as the cost doesn’t warrant the treatment? I am constantly flabbergasted by people who think that the Government will cover ALL their medical needs. Nope. You are an asset if you are still working, the Government is invested with getting you well so you can go back to work.....and continue paying your taxes to float the NHS. Retired?? Good luck with getting the care you need as you are no longer paying into the system, so you are expendable.
Free market disruption is good (choice, tech). Government disruption is not (regs, skewing demand curve)
By threatening real competition.
“I refuse to do business with Amazon. I’ve been free of them for about 2 years. Bezos spews his liberal bs though the Washington Post so I refuse to use them. Yeah, I know I am a lone voice in the wilderness”
Bezos is definitely the Doctor evil of our times. Looks and acts the part.
“I refuse to do business with Amazon. I’ve been free of them for about 2 years. Bezos spews his liberal bs though the Washington Post so I refuse to use them. Yeah, I know I am a lone voice in the wilderness”
Bezos is definitely the Doctor evil of our times. Looks and acts the part.
“I refuse to do business with Amazon. I’ve been free of them for about 2 years. Bezos spews his liberal bs though the Washington Post so I refuse to use them. Yeah, I know I am a lone voice in the wilderness”
Bezos is definitely the Doctor evil of our times. Looks and acts the part.
Yikes, sorry! Anyone else having slow Server response?
“So Bezos, et al, will become the go-to healthcare provider? Does anyone not think this is to eventually get back to Socialized Medicine? One healthcare provider who starts out with low monthly payments, until he bankrupts all the rest of the healthcare providers.”
Are you making the argument that fewer players in a market is good and more competition in a market is bad?
“Bezos is definitely the Doctor evil of our times. Looks and acts the part.”
No, he and Amazon are just one more competitor in a market. You can elect to purchase his products or not, but the fact that Bezos and Amazon is in a market provides a benefit to you.
This is great - exactly what’s meant by introducing free-choice in the healthcare market - maybe those poor insurance companies will take another look at their products and up the quality/reduce the cost of what they’re peddling....
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