Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase have selected a chief executive for their joint healthcare company, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett confirmed to CNBC June 7.
In an interview with CNBC's Becky Quick, Mr. Buffett said they've chosen an individual to lead the venture and will likely reveal the person's identity within two weeks, as they are "just tidying up a couple of things," he said.
Mr. Buffett noted an interesting aspect of the hiring process was that each candidate considered for the role recognized there were significant improvements to be made in the industry, and each individual was aware of the road ahead.
"It isn't like there's anybody out there that's connected with the [healthcare] system that thinks we've already arrived at nirvana, and they know how difficult the job will be to make major changes. They're all cheering for us to succeed," Mr. Buffett told CNBC.
"A number of them might not have wanted to be the one to help us succeed ... but nobody disagreed with the mission, the importance of it or the feasibility. … It's also a very, very tough nut to crack, and it's going to take significant time. We've got the right person," he added.
The executives announced their intention to form a joint healthcare venture in January. Though they have not yet outlined how they plan to lower healthcare costs, Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan, told Ms. Quick June 7 the change they're looking to make "is a long-term thing."
"There are a lot of things that can be done better. We know the fraud, the administrative costs, we know overuse and underuse of various drugs and specialized procedures. We know the end of life often costs far more than it should and is far more painful than it should be, and with big data, there's so many things to do," he said.
"You should expect we're going to do it the right way with the same kind of heart we've had before, which will improve your lives and improve your wellness, improve the outcomes, give you more choice, which I believe you if you do all those things, it will effectively be cheaper. And you'll have much healthier employees," Mr. Dimon added.
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