Haven will shut down, ending joint healthcare bid by Amazon, Berkshire, JP Morgan

Haven, the healthcare joint venture led by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JP Morgan Chase, is shutting down next month.

Unveiled three years ago by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett, and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Haven did not seek a profit. It created its first offering in October 2019 with health insurance plans for tens of thousands of employees at the three respective companies. The plan was to eventually share solutions with others beyond their own employees.

“The Haven team made good progress exploring a wide range of healthcare solutions, as well as piloting new ways to make primary care easier to access, insurance benefits simpler to understand and easier to use, and prescription drugs more affordable,” Haven spokesperson Brooke Thurston said in a statement. “Moving forward, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. will leverage these insights and continue to collaborate informally to design programs tailored to address the specific needs of our individual employee populations and locations.”

CNBC first reported the news, noting that Haven’s 57 employees will be placed at the three companies.

Duplication with Amazon’s own internal healthcare initiatives emerged as one of multiple stumbling blocks for Haven, according to report by health industry publication STAT in May.

In addition to experiencing executive turnover and making slower-than-expected progress toward its goals, Haven was at times surprised by Amazon’ own healthcare plans, such as its Amazon Care primary care program for its employees in the Seattle region, STAT reported.

This past May, Dr. Atul Gawande stepped down as CEO of Haven but remained chairman of the board.

Amazon has continued to expand its reach into the $3 trillion healthcare industry over the past several years. The company’s health and wellness endeavours include Amazon Care; a new online drugstore called Amazon Pharmacy, leveraging its acquisition of online pharmacy Pillpack; and the company’s new Halo health tracking device. The company also sells Amazon Web Services to healthcare customers.

CNBC reported in October that Amazon is seeking business development managers to “build and grow relationships with commercial and public sector enterprises” for Amazon Care. Other recent postings include a business development manager who will “define and execute a strategy for acquiring and managing provider networks.

The original article can be found at: GeekWire