SEATTLE (dpa-AFX) - Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKa) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) announced a partnership to address healthcare for their U.S. employees. The three companies said it will pursue this objective through an independent company that is free from profit-making incentives and constraints.
In response to this news, CVS Health Corp. (CVS) closed the day's session down 4% to $80.19 and Express Scripts Holding Co. (ESRX) declined over 3% to close at $79.31.
Health insurers CIGNA Corp. (CI) also fell 7% to $207.89, while Anthem Inc. (ANTM) declined 5% to $243.44.
Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, stated, 'The healthcare system is complex, and we enter into this challenge open-eyed about the degree of difficulty. Hard as it might be, reducing healthcare's burden on the economy while improving outcomes for employees and their families would be worth the effort. Success is going to require talented experts, a beginner's mind, and a long-term orientation.'
Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase announced that this effort is in its early planning stages, with the initial formation of the company jointly spearheaded by Todd Combs, an investment officer of Berkshire Hathaway, Marvelle Sullivan Berchtold, a Managing Director of JPMorgan Chase, and Beth Galetti, a Senior Vice President at Amazon.
The companies announced that this partnership is aimed at improving employee satisfaction and reducing costs. The longer-term management team, headquarters location and key operational details will be communicated in due course, the companies said.
The companies stated that the initial focus of the new company will be on technology solutions that will provide U.S. employees and their families with simplified, high-quality and transparent healthcare at a reasonable cost.
AMZN closed Tuesday's session up 1% at $1,437.82. BRKa closed at $323,000, while JPM closed the day's regular session at $115.11.
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