Amazon makes another consumer-friendly move
Amazon $AMZN-3.7% has a new offering that addresses a problem facing millions of Americans that Google, Warren Buffett and others have failed to solve. Among other things, don't forget that tomorrow has results. 😊
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One of the many big problems facing the US is health care. Many Americans don't have access to proper health care and both politicians and private companies are trying to solve this problem.
A huge effort to improve health care has been made with Haven, a joint partnership of Amazon $AMZN-3.7%, Berkshire Hathaway $BRK-B-1.2% and JPMorgan Chase $JPM-2.4%. But this has only lasted a mere three years. And where private enterprise has mostly failed, the government seems to have given up as well. CVS Health $CVS-0.6% has perhaps had the most success in this area with its outpatient clinics, bringing at least basic services in a somewhat affordable way to places that lacked them.
Now Amazon $AMZN-3.7% has followed CVS's lead and expanded the health care program it is testing nationally. This isn't the massive overhaul of the U.S. health care system that Haven envisioned, but it's still a pretty big effort to bring care to more people.
With Amazon Clinic: which has now been expanded to the entire US, the online leader offers a virtual healthcare marketplace that allows customers to quickly get treatment for more than 30 common health issues. "In addition to report-based consultations in 34 states, Amazon Clinic now supports nationwide video visits. Amazon Clinic offers customers around-the-clock access to doctors directly through Amazon.com and the Amazon mobile app," the company said in a press release.
How Amazon Clinic works:
Amazon does not hire doctors or provide care. Instead, it acts as a marketplace that connects people with the right providers. "To get treatment, customers simply visit an Amazon clinic on the Amazon website or the Amazon mobile app. There, they can compare response times and prices from different telehealth provider groups, fill out a sign-up form, and connect with their chosen provider," the company said. .
Perhaps most importantly, prices for services are posted upfront, which means there are no billing surprises that people - even those with health insurance - often encounter when they visit outpatient clinics. This feature alone could attract more people who might not otherwise seek treatment. Amazon Clinic doesn't require customers to have health insurance, though those who do can use it for any prescriptions their doctors write. The company does provide some information on pricing upfront and explains its overall policy.
"Each outside telehealth provider sets its own prices, and prices vary for each treatment. To compare prices, visit the page for the treatment you're interested in. Amazon Clinic's report-based consultations cost an average of $35 and video visits cost $75. Customers can use FSA or HSA dollars to cover the cost of the visit," Amazon said on its FAQs page.
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Amazon
AMZNIn other news, they are also starting to offer delivery for non-Prime grocery customers. Amazon fresh service. In other interesting news, Amazon plans to invest around $7.2 billion in Israel by 2037 to launch its Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers in the country.
Well, results are coming soon and I'm quite in anticipation, I'm holding but not buying the company yet, but I'll be watching it enough and it may change.
What are your expectations and evaluation of the company? 😊
I like the idea a lot and they are heading in a good direction, but it will depend on how they do it and a lot of other things, but the idea is great.
Again some new information, thanks for the overview and for the info :)
Telehealth... that sounds honestly awful :-D Whenever I have something and try to look it up online, after a few minutes I end up thinking that I must have some fatal disease and I won't see the light of day again... I can't imagine this if there are no doctors but some "temporary workers", ideally from Mexico... :-D
I had no idea they were into something like this:) thanks
A different $TDOC-2.1%?
The fact that Amazon is just an intermediary is great. Costs and potential losses are reduced.
And the "billing surprises" you mention are absurd, though in some cases I guess it can't be helped. Amazon's really playing it long term. Hopefully it all bears fruit. I believe it will.