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9May, 2018
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Healthcare Transformation: Walmart & Humana (Final)

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In our last couple of blogs, we have expressed our excitement about a potential deal between Walmart (WMT) and Humana (HUM).  The latter, a company I have known very well for 20 years, as they are a dominant player in my home market in South Florida.  I have had contracts with Humana for most of my 25 years in healthcare, and a company I founded and grew to modest size is part of Humana today. I think a combination of Walmart and Humana is like none other I have seen […]
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12Apr, 2018
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Healthcare Transformation (Part 2): Walmart & Humana

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In our last blog, we left off with the recent announcement that Walmart (WMT) was looking to acquire Humana (HUM) teasing that this combination could be different. Over the last year, we have frequently discussed what combination of merging companies we thought were not going to work, for example, our series on “Silicon Valley and Healthcare.”  The series broke down what Silicon Valley companies could or could not do in healthcare. I also wrote about the announcement that Amazon, Berkshire and J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) were going to partner to […]
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5Apr, 2018
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Healthcare Transformation: What could it look like?

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When we first began this blog, we wanted to discuss the things that we see that could, and most likely will, transform healthcare.  We are a healthcare technology company, and while technology is part of our DNA, it’s not all of it.  The other part of our DNA deals with facilities, systems, processes, and consumerization issues in healthcare. Those consumerization issues relate to patient/consumer control of their own health data; at the very least, to see and share that collective information with other caregivers.  We carry that philosophy literally in […]
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21Feb, 2018
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“U.S. health-care spending to climb 5.3% in 2018” and Beyond (Part 1)

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The U.S. Government Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the Actuary in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released their annual National Health Expenditures Projections for the period of 2017-26. I must admit, since I have been in healthcare, I have looked forward to two annual reports from CMS.  One of the reports is the actual cost expenditures for the previous two years usually looking back 10 years retrospectively.  The 2016 report is the latest year reviewed and was just reported in December of […]
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6Feb, 2018
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Amazon, Berkshire and JP Morgan Chase

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I am writing this blog from the San Francisco International (SFO) Airport, after spending a few days visiting investors in technology, venture capital, and private equity firms from Silicon Valley – known for technology innovation (more on what I learned from my visit in future installments). Nearly the minute I landed, news hit that three behemoths of industry, and with legendary leadership as Bezos, Diamond and Buffet, were effectively joining forces to change healthcare first for their employees, and some hope potentially for America. For the last three days, it […]
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19Jan, 2018
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Healthcare Price Transparency Comes to America (Part 2)

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In our previous blog, Healthcare Price Transparency Comes to America (Part 1), we started a conversation on price transparency.  Today, we will discuss the findings of a recent report from Health Affairs.  The report, by the researchers from Harvard and UCLA, noted that they cannot find a previous report or research on this subject, making it potentially the first in the space.  I can confirm I have seen nothing like it.  I will add that I am sure this will not be the last time this subject is published. The […]
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18Jan, 2018
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Healthcare Price Transparency Comes to America (Part 1)

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The Internet, and its natural progression to e-commerce, has transformed how we buy everything from groceries, apparel, and attaining an education, to how we purchase cars and even homes over the last 20 years. One industry has been only slightly impacted by the Internet; that industry is healthcare.  Let us be clear, we are very aware that we live in a world where Google is most of Americans’ first step in the self-diagnosis of a symptom or disease.  It is also our second step, once our physicians tell us what […]
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11Dec, 2017
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Silicon Valley and Healthcare (Part 9)

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I’d like to take a small detour with our blog series on Silicon Valley and Healthcare and talk more about Amazon indirectly, and a lot more about the recent announcement of CVS’s acquisition of Aetna. In brief, and as best as I can gather, Aetna has (approximately): 1 million medical members 3 million dental members 3 million pharmacy benefit management services members 609 million group insurance members An estimated 1.2 million healthcare professionals under contract 695,971+ primary care doctors and specialists under contract 5,712 hospitals under contract $63 billion in […]
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6Dec, 2017
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Silicon Valley and Healthcare (Part 8)

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In our last blog, we ended with a question: “Can Amazon use its special skills to transform healthcare?” The answer today is “Certainly, and in a major way!”  This past weekend we were alerted by the headline from the Wall Street Journal “CVS to Buy Aetna for $69 Billion, Combining Major Health-Care Players.” I believe that this action is in direct response to the reports that Amazon is planning to make major moves in healthcare.  In particular, playing to the strengths I noted in our last blog: “logistics, supply chain […]
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30Nov, 2017
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Silicon Valley and Healthcare (Part 7)

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It is the most exciting time ever to be in healthcare! When we made the decision to switch industries from real estate, development and commercial construction, and spend a couple of years learning healthcare from the ground up, today is what I envisioned. The time we live in now is what I believed was an inevitable confluence of tectonic forces – technology, the aging baby boomers and the emergence of an interconnected world.  I could not totally foresee what the internet would become, however the signs were there. A look […]
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