Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Secretive Health Initiative Founded By Billionaires Finally Gets A Name: Haven
The New York Times: The Imposing Venture Of 3 Corporate Giants Gets A Not-So-Imposing New Name
We can finally put a name to the thing striking fear within the health care establishment: Haven. The secretive new venture, created by corporate titans Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase to transform health care for their employees, has gone without an official name for more than a year. It was nameless when a well known doctor was appointed last summer to run it. It was referred to only as ABC or ABJ in a recent lawsuit brought by giant health insurer UnitedHealth Group, which described whatever-it-was as a powerful potential competitor. (The venture would only say it had no current plans to compete, and a federal judge ruled against UnitedHealth.) (Abelson, 3/6)
Reuters: Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan Healthcare Company To Be Called Haven
The three companies announced plans for a new venture in January of 2018, shaking the shares of health insurance companies like UnitedHealth Group Inc and Cigna Corp that manage large corporate benefits on worries that Amazon would disrupt the traditional insurance and drug benefit businesses. Haven Chief Executive Atul Gawande, who has been running the company since July, said in a news release that the company plans to start small and expand. (3/6)
Stat: The Atul Gawande Company Finally Has A Name: Haven
“We will create new solutions and work to change systems, technologies, contracts, policy, and whatever else is in the way of better health care,” Dr. Atul Gawande, the company’s chief executive, wrote in a letter posted on the website. “We will be relentless. We will insure our work has high impact and is sustainable.” (Ross, 3/6)
The Wall Street Journal: Health Venture Of Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan Has A Name: Haven
The website reiterates that Haven isn’t meant to generate profits and will “reinvest any surplus back into our work.” The company says it will focus on priorities including improved access to primary care, simplifying insurance coverage and making prescription drugs more affordable—all issues that were previously highlighted in court testimony. In a Q&A on the site, in answer to a question about whether Haven will look to replace patients’ existing doctors and insurance companies, the company says it is “interested in working with clinicians and insurance companies to improve the overall health care system.” (Wilde Mathews, 3/6)
Modern Healthcare: Amazon-Berkshire Hathaway-JPMorgan Name Joint Health Venture Haven
Some observers have said Haven could be a disruptive force that will drive widespread change throughout the industry. The venture has ruffled feathers and even sparked a noncompete lawsuit against a former employee of UnitedHealth Group-owned Optum. But a federal judge in Boston refused to prevent David Smith from working for the entity, despite the claims about trade secrets. (3/6)
