Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Compared To China, Tech Billionaires' New Health Initiative Is Actually Behind The Curve
Amazon and two other American titans are trying to shake up health care by experimenting with their own employees鈥 coverage. By Chinese standards, they鈥檙e behind the curve. Technology companies like Alibaba and Tencent have made health care a priority for years, and are using China as their laboratory. After testing online medical advice and drug tracking systems, they are now focused on a more advanced tool: artificial intelligence. (Wee and Mozur, 1/31)
Amazon.com Inc. is pushing its weight around in the stock market. The e-commerce giant鈥檚 rapid climb in recent years has only accelerated in 2018, pushing the company鈥檚 market cap above $700 billion for the first time on Wednesday. That puts it in rarefied territory alongside Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc., and Microsoft Corp. ... [It's rapid rise] is the latest sign of just how much weight Amazon has to throw around in the stock market. And recently it鈥檚 been doing just that. On Tuesday, it sent health-care stocks tumbling after the firm, along with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase, said it is creating a company to figure out how to reduce health-care costs. (Eisen, 1/31)
In other marketplace news聽鈥
Anthem Inc.鈥檚 stock rebounded after the health insurer鈥檚 forecast for a 2018 profit increase heartened investors who鈥檝e been nervously watching big potential changes in the industry. The Indianapolis-based company鈥檚 earnings this year will exceed $15 a share, with the recent U.S. tax overhaul providing roughly a 15 percent boost to profits, Anthem said in a statement on Wednesday. That sent the stock about 3.7 percent higher, partly recovering from Tuesday鈥檚 drop on news that three corporate giants were starting a health company. (Tracer, 1/31)
Bloomfield-based Cigna is the latest American company saying it is giving its workers a raise because of the recent GOP-led tax overhaul. In a statement released Wednesday, the health insurer said 鈥渢he net financial benefits of United States tax reform will allow the company to further accelerate investments in our employees, our capabilities and our customers, clients, partners, and communities.鈥 (Radelat, 1/31)