Atul Gawande, a journalist and doctor, has been chosen to lead a new health venture for Amazon.com Inc., Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Gawande has written extensively about the United States’ inability to grapple with rising health-care spending. The new firm is supposed to help the three companies improve care and lower costs. It will be based in Boston, and Gawande is set to start on July 9. The health venture will be an “independent entity that is free from profit-making incentives and constraints,” according to Bloomberg.
Gawande is a prominent name in health-care policy circles, but he has not run a major business. He rose to fame in part thanks to his 2009 New Yorker article, The Cost Conundrum, which examined why health care was vastly more expensive in some parts of the U.S. than others. By choosing him, the venture is suggesting that they will take a broad look at how to approach fixing health care. The companies have indicated a modest initial goal, according to Bloomberg, and have said they want to use technology to reduce costs and improve care for workers.
Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know.
