Bid to address health costs by 3 corporate giants is over

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A health care venture conceived by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan to attack soaring costs is dissolving.

Haven, which was formed in 2018 by the three U.S. corporate giants, will end operations by the end of February, a company spokeswoman said Monday. She gave no reason for the end of the venture.

The independent company was created to focus on improving the care delivered to employees of those businesses while doing a better job of managing the expense. The companies then picked a high-profile CEO, Harvard professor and surgeon Dr. Atul Gawande, to lead the venture.

In 2019, the company picked a name for itself, but it had been largely silent since then.

Gawande departed last May. Haven’s remaining employees will be absorbed by the three companies involved in its creation.

A Haven spokeswoman said the company started a new design for health care benefits that eliminated patient out-of-pocket payments like deductibles and co insurance and encouraged access to primary care.

She said the company also identified areas for cutting drug costs.

Health care costs have vastly outpaced wages and inflation, stressing families and employers for years. Benefits experts had expected any solutions developed by Haven to become widely adopted beyond the three companies that created the venture.