Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett spoke with CNBC's "Squawk Box" about his vision for the company's healthcare initiative with Amazon and JPMorgan and Chase, hinting that the venture will go beyond reducing healthcare costs.
The trio — Mr. Buffett, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon — embarked on a new venture in January aimed at lowering healthcare costs for their U.S. employees. They hope the combined size of their companies will offer the scale and resources needed to address one of the most complicated issues in the industry.
"We've got the perfect partnership with Jeff and Jamie," Mr. Buffett told CNBC. "Our companies are big, and yet we can still make things happen. We don't have bureaucratic problems or constituency problems that some others might and we like we each other. We trust each other."
Here are four highlights from the conversation.
1. Mr. Buffett called healthcare spending a "tapeworm on the economic system," and said its time the private sector steps up to lower health costs.
2. He doesn't feel the U.S. system is "cost-conscious" and argues it should foster "better care in reality and also in terms of how the people feel about the care that they're receiving."
3. Mr. Buffett is somewhat confident about his, Amazon's and JPMorgan's effort. "It isn't difficult to shave a little bit off [of healthcare costs] here," Mr. Buffett said. "The question is whether we can come up with something better. I'm hopeful, but don't expect any miracles."
4. He believes the company will need a "top-notch CEO … [who] has to be someone who really has a grasp on [healthcare] from every angle," he told CNBC.
5. Mr. Buffett rejected some analysts' speculations the Berkshire-Amazon-JPMorgan collaboration could tap Teva Pharmaceuticals, which Berkshire holds a $377 million stake in, noting that is the "last thing on my mind."
Click here to access the full interview.
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