HR Dive: Healthcare world watches as Amazon makes moves

The rapidity with which Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase have entered the healthcare industry is in part a response to frustrations — held by both employers and the general public — about inefficiencies in the U.S. healthcare system, sources previously told HR Dive.

“Affordability is the issue,” Shandon Fowler, an analyst and principal of Four8 Insights, said in an interview. “People aren’t getting the value that they think they should be getting out of the system.” Health plan sponsors and payers have struggled to use traditional “levers,” like medical loss ratios and pharmacy rebates to reduce their spend on vital employee benefits, he said.

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