“Amazon is in the business of reinventing business models,” said Michael Abrams, managing partner at health care management consulting firm Numerof & Associates. “The kind of organization Amazon is suggests they’re not going to stop with their own 54,000 people in Seattle, or their half-million people nationally. They’re going to be scaling this up.”
American healthcare is a mess .. a tree loaded with overripe apples waiting for some smart farmer !
Jeff Bezos may be that farmer!
While the Democrats debate varous vertsons of government funded Medicare for all, the corporate world may be making that program obsolete. Over a year ago Bezos got together with mega scions of the American corporate world, Warren Buffett and JJamie Dimon. The trio proposed a non profit corporate effort to make medical care efficient .. you know like Amazon!
That not for profit, now called Haven, took advantage of the financial resources of Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan to develop plans to cut healthcare costs in American corporations. As a start, “non profits” are great because they do not pay taxes but their work can be used to launch profit-making ventures! What am amazing way to use the tax code! Better yet, the healthcare plans of these corporations already account for about 60% oa all Americans!
Meanwhile, Amazon has been getting pharmacy licences across the US. This is under cover of “Pill Pak” a pharmacy acquired by Amazon that allows the megalith to have pharacy licenses in all 50 states so the company can legally compete with other drug chains. Here in Seattle, the company has also acquired a license to practice medicine!
But wait, there was more. The announcement said Haven Healthcare would focus on “technology solutions that will provide U.S. employees and their families with simplified, high-quality and transparent healthcare at a reasonable cost.” Last year, Amazon won approval for Alexa, to transmit private patient information. Meanwhile, Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods gives Amazon brick and mortar everywhere and the Bezos firm has now created its own version of a healthcare practice, employing clinicians are employed by Amazon-owned Oasis Medical Group, “a medical practice licensed in Washington State.” The practice is, for now, located in Amazon’s Prime building.
. Combining the availability of a doctor or physician’s assistant with retail drug sales puts Bezos in a unique position to revolutionize the retail drug business. The model is already there in the merger of Aetna with CVS . These companies created the Doc in the Box industry. Put Docs in the Whole Food Healthy Food stores, add software to watch a patient’s drug needs and Amazon delivery? Add in the resources of Amazon Web Service and it AI software and the limits are hard to imagine/