Brian Marcotte, president and CEO, National Business Group on Health:
“They recognize this is [a] long-term play to get involved in this. I’d have to say, this industry is ripe for disruption.
“I think we know technology will continue to play an increasing role in how consumers access and receive health care. We’ve also learned most consumers do not touch the health care delivery system with enough frequency to ever be a sophisticated consumer. What’s intriguing about this partnership is Amazon for many consumers has become part of their day-to-day world, part of their routine. It’s intriguing to consider the possibilities of integrating health care into consumer routine.
“And I think that therein lies the opportunity. Employers offer a lot of resources to their employees to help them maximize their experience, and their No. 1 challenge is engagement.”
Joseph Antos, health economist, American Enterprise Institute:
“My first suggestion is to look at what other employers have done (some unsuccessfully) and consider how to adapt those ideas for the three companies and more broadly. Change incentives for providers. Change incentives for consumers. Work on ways to reduce the effects of market consolidation. The bottom line: Don’t keep doing what we are doing now. I don’t see that these three companies have enough presence in health markets to pull this off anytime soon, but perhaps this should be viewed as the private-sector version of the Affordable Care Act’s Innovation Center – except, this time, there may be some new ideas to test.”
Ceci Connolly, president and CEO, Alliance of Community Health Plans:
“We know that 5% of any population consumes 50% of the health care dollar. I would encourage this group to focus on how to better serve those individuals who need help managing multiple chronic conditions.”
David Lansky, CEO, Pacific Business Group on Health:
“The incumbent providers of services to our members are not doing as much as we need done for affordability and quality. So, we are pleased to see them go down this path. We don’t know what piece of the puzzle they will tackle.
“We know well-intended efforts over the years haven’t added up to material impact on cost and quality. I would suspect they are looking at doing something broader, more disruptive than initiatives we have tried before.
“I think across the board they have the opportunity to set high standards for the health system in whatever platform they use. These companies have a history of raising the bar. Potentially, it could be a help to all of us.”
Staff writers Julie Appleby, Rachel Bluth, Jenny Gold, Jay Hancock, Shefali Luthra, Jordan Rau, Julie Rovner and Chad Terhune contributed to this report. Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.