Tag Archives: Amazon

Nonprofit Hospital Consolidation to Continue in 2019

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https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/finance/nonprofit-hospital-consolidation-continue-2019

Despite increased scrutiny from regulators, nonprofit health systems will remain active through mergers and acquisitions this year, according to a new Moody’s report.

The deluge of M&A activity among nonprofit health systems is expected to continue on in 2019, with the potential for some “unconventional relationships,” according to a Moody’s report released Friday morning.

Driven by tight financial conditions challenging the nonprofit hospital business model, as well as the entrance of nontraditional corporate players to healthcare and the potential changes to the ACA, more M&A activity is expected throughout the year.

Moody’s expects nonprofit health systems to engage in partnerships with other hospitals but also seek to align with companies specializing in data analytics or ridesharing services to continue the transition from inpatient care to outpatient care.

Nonprofit health systems are also aiming to increase their footing when negotiating with payers, which involves strategic decisions to diversity service options and increase their geographic reach.

The report cites ProMedica’s acquisition of HCR Manorcare and Tower Health’s purchase of five for-profit acute care hospitals as examples of nonprofit systems taking a short-term credit hit to gain stable long-term positioning for the organization.

Though M&A activity is expected to be widespread and a primary objective for many nonprofit systems, the Moody’s report warned that additional scrutiny from state and federal regulators is on the way.

The requirements put in place on the CHI-Dignity Health merger by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, along with price increase restrictions imposed by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey on CareGroup and Lahey Health, are cited as examples of the terms health systems should expect to meet.

For-profits will tap into capital markets

The Moody’s report also indicates that for-profit hospitals will delve further into capital markets so long as they remain receptive and buoyed by low interest rates. This approach could lead to lower interest costs and improve liquidity, which would bolster their credit standing.

Jessica Gladstone, Moody’s associate managing director and lead analyst on for-profit hospitals, told HealthLeaders that rising interest rates would a material impact on many for-profit hospitals.

“High cash interest costs relative to earnings are already consuming the majority of cash for many FP hospital companies,” Gladstone said. “For companies with floating rate debt, rising interest rates (depending on the amount of the increase) could leave some FP hospitals with very little free cash flow left to pay down debt or otherwise invest to grow operations.”

Gladstone added that while many of the same headwinds facing for-profit hospitals remain a challenge in 2019, executives can be encouraged by the opportunities ahead to refinance high-cost debt and achieve cost savings.

Several deals are listed as potential opportunities that could benefit for-profit healthcare organizations in 2019 regarding changes to capital structure, interest cost savings, as well as M&A activity:

Additional highlights from the Moody’s report:

  • Expect smaller community and regional nonprofit hospitals to join cooperatives to gain leverage at the negotiating table on supply costs among other price points.
  • Growing investment by private equity firms in physician practices and ambulatory services, will put a pinch on nonprofit systems.
  • The entrance of Amazon, Walmart, and Apple can’t be discounted as another driver of M&A activity in 2019.
  • Vertical mergers like CVS-Aetna and the continued rise of telemedicine will drive patients away from traditional areas of care delivery, like hospitals.
  • Though major changes to the ACA remain unlikely due to the split government in Congress, smaller changes could still make a significant impact.
  • The report cites potential changes to site-neutral payments, Medicare quality-factor penalties, and DSH payment reductions as examples.

 

 

 

 

WHAT’S TO KEEP AMAZON FROM COMPETING IN BRICK-AND-MORTAR HEALTHCARE? NOT MUCH

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https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/strategy/whats-keep-amazon-competing-brick-and-mortar-healthcare-not-much

Amazon could join retail clinics already competing with hospitals and health systems to provide outpatient healthcare services.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Amazon’s launch of new ‘urban grocery stores’ could serve as a possible beachhead for expansion into outpatient medical care services.

Amazon plans to offer goods besides food in the grocery stores, creating a potential entry point for it to get into brick-and-mortar retail healthcare.

Even in a digital age where more services are headed online, e-commerce retail giant Amazon could be poised, alongside retail healthcare clinics, to compete with hospitals and health systems on their brick-and-mortar playing fields.

And there’s little preventing Amazon from doing this, especially after news the company is looking to launch new “urban grocery stores,” which could serve as a possible beachhead for expansion into outpatient medical care services. Amazon would join retail providers Walgreens, CVS Health, and Walmart, which are competing already with hospitals and health systems to provide outpatient services in their communities.

This potential competition to hospital outpatient business comes as CVS is testing a “HealthHub” store concept in Houston following its acquisition of health insurer Aetna, and as Walgreens is dedicating armies of Microsoft scientists to a “store of the future.” Analysts expect these retail clinics to change the way U.S. healthcare is delivered, which includes efforts to give patients less need to use the hospital and its ancillary outpatient services.

And why not Amazon as well?

“Amazon’s basic approach has been to create a transactional platform that supports an ecosystem of interrelated products and services,” says Ken Kaufman, managing director and chair of consulting firm Kaufman Hall. “Adding brick-and-mortar stores to its online platform will support Amazon’s grocery business and its competition with Walmart but could be applied to other products and services, including healthcare, which is very much on Amazon’s radar.”

Amazon last year acquired the online pharmacy PillPack and formed a new venture recently named Haven with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase to examine ways to lessen the cost of care and improve health outcomes for the three corporate giants’ 1.2 million employees. Amazon’s announcements don’t directly impact hospitals and health systems, though analysts say Amazon, like Walmart, has a laboratory in its large workforce to test what works.

For now, Amazon “plans to launch urban grocery stores that could offer a spectrum of goods that include beauty products alongside food,” as The Wall Street Journal reported. Amazon declined HealthLeaders‘ request for comment on its plans.

But Kaufman sees this as a potential entry point for Amazon to get into brick-and-mortar retail healthcare, given its history to add on services over time from the successful platforms.

For example, Amazon in recent years has opened brick-and-mortar bookstores in New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. Earlier this month, Amazon said it is closing 87 of the pop-up kiosk variety stores in malls and Kohl’s stores, but it is maintaining Amazon Books and Amazon “4-star” stores that are largely stand-alone sites.

Amazon is looking at a grocery store model that includes leases with more flexibility than traditional commercial leases, as the Journal reported. That could allow Amazon to jump into healthcare services more quickly.

Though it’s unclear what kind of healthcare services and products Amazon could offer, Kaufman thinks that there’s not much keeping Amazon from exploring brick-and-mortar healthcare delivery in the future.

“It is always difficult to predict the long-term intentions behind Jeff Bezos’ short-term moves,” Kaufman said.

“The more comfortable Amazon gets with physical commerce, the easier it will be to pivot toward healthcare,” he added.

 

 

 

Here’s How Microsoft Plans To Modernize Healthcare

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http://fortune.com/2019/02/07/microsoft-healthcare-artificial-intelligence/

Image result for microsoft healthcare bot service

Microsoft announced its new service to help healthcare companies store patient data in the cloud and a Healthcare Bot service that will be integrated with Electronic Health Records.

The tool will be based on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, which it describes as a secure end-to-end platform that organizations can use to store and analyze sensitive data.

“Healthcare leaders are thinking about how they bring their data into the cloud while increasing opportunities to use and learn from that data,” Microsoft wrote in a blog.

With its new healthcare push, Microsoft aims to create a system that makes health records more easily accessible and sharable between clinicians, researchers, and patients, Bloomberg reports.The corporation also sees its integrated healthcare storage as a way to attract companies to Microsoft, over its competitor Amazon Web Services.

 

Amazon now sells hospital rooms

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https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/supply-chain/amazon-now-sells-hospital-rooms-5-notes.html?origin=rcme&utm_source=rcme

Image result for Amazon now sells hospital rooms

Image result for Amazon now sells hospital rooms

Hospitals, health systems and businesses can now purchase a hospital room on Amazon, CNBC reports.

Five things to know:

1. Amazon already offers a slew of medical supplies, from syringes to bed pans. The e-commerce giant also sells a line of 60 over-the-counter healthcare products.

2. Businesses can now purchase a “smart” hospital room on Amazon from the vendor EIR Healthcare, through a service dubbed MedModular.

3. MedModular is customizable, but all the rooms are equipped with a bathroom and a bed.

4. The rooms cost about $285,000 — or $814 per square foot — and are targeted toward hospitals and other business buyers. EIR Healthcare claims the units are more affordable that traditional construction, CNBC reports.

5. EIR Healthcare CEO Grant Geiger told CNBC that hospital customers have expressed interest in using the units as simulation labs or urgent care facilities.

 

 

Policy upheaval, tech giant disruption and megamergers: Healthcare Dive’s 10 best stories of 2018

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https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/policy-upheaval-tech-giant-disruption-and-megamergers-healthcare-dives-1/543390/

Mobile health records and nurse protests also grabbed readers this year.

This year in healthcare was marked by sweeping changes, including seemingly constant vertical and horizontal consolidation, led by the $69 billion CVS grab of Aetna and Cigna’s $67 billion acquisition of Express Scripts.

As 2018 wound down, a federal judge took an ax to the Affordable Care Act as the Trump administration kept up its efforts to undermine the law, with CMS expanding short-term health plans many say are built to subvert the ACA. Elimination of the individual mandate penalty, Medicaid expansion and rising premiums all likely contributed to declined enrollment on ACA exchanges as well.

The administration encouraged states to use waivers to expand controversial Medicaid work requirements and proposed site-neutral payments, rattling health systems of all sizes that were already struggling under ferocious operating headwinds. Hospitals cut back on services and invested heavily in lucrative outpatient facilities in an attempt to reclaim volume.

Tech companies Apple and Amazon pushed further into the space, with the former focusing on mobile health apps and the latter focusing on, well, almost everything.

But that’s just scratching the surface. Here is a curated list of Healthcare Dive’s top stories from the last year.

    1. Optum a step ahead in vertical integration frenzy

      After a 2017 marked by failed horizontal mergers, vertical consolidation came into vogue during the year, led by CVS-Aetna, Cigna-Express Scripts and Humana-Kindred.

      Some smart observers saw a predecessor to these unions in UnitedHealth Group’s Optum: a pharmacy benefit manager plus a care services unit that employs over 30,000 physicians, using data analytics to capitalize on consumerism and value-based care.

      Our piece on Optum’s solid foothold in the space, and its likelihood of staying ahead of the nascent competition, was Healthcare Dive’s most-read article in 2018. Read More »

    2. New Medicare Advantage rules hold big potential for pop health

      A novel Medicare Advantage rule giving payers more flexibility to sell supplemental benefits to chronically ill enrollees sparked a fair amount of interest in our readers.

      The rule offered up a slate of new opportunities for insurers such as UnitedHealthcare and Humana that can now work with rideshare companies to provide transportation to medical appointments, air conditioners for beneficiaries with asthma and other measures around issues like food insecurity in a broad shift to recognizing social determinants of health. Read More »

    3. Apple debuts medical records on iPhone

      Outside players such as Apple, Amazon and Google moved forward in their bids to disrupt healthcare in 2018. Apple rang in the New Year with its announcement that customers would now be able to access their medical records on the Health app following months of speculation and buzz.

      The move looks to put access to personal, sensitive data back in the patients’ hands, an objective a lot of the entrenched healthcare ecosystem can get behind as well. Heavy hitters on the EHR side (Epic, Cerner, athenahealth) and the provider side (Johns Hopkins, Cedars-Sinai, Geisinger) are taking place in the initiative. Read More »

    4. At least 14 states have legislation addressing safe staffing currently, but California is the only one to implement a strict ratio at one nurse per every five patients. Looking to 2019, in Pennsylvania voters elected a governor who has voiced support for state legislation. Read More »

    5. More employers go direct to providers, sidestepping payers

      Employers ramped up their cost-containment creativity in 2018. One method? Cutting out the middleman and forging direct relationships with providers themselves, whether it’s contracting with an accountable care organization to manage an entire employee population or a simple advocacy role to fight for payment reform.

      Aside from some correlated CMS interest, big names forging inroads in the arena include General Motors, Walmart, Whole Foods, Boeing, Walt Disney and Intel, all with various levels of investment.

      Although only 6% of employers are doing so currently, 22% are considering solidifying some sort of provider relationship for next year according to a Willis Towers Watson survey. It’s also likely the Amazon-J.P. Morgan-Berkshire Hathaway venture will look at direct contracting in its (still vague) mission to lower employer costs. Read More »

    6. Amazon Business’ medical supply chain ambitions: 4 things to know

      Amazon’s B2B purchasing arm reached out and grabbed the healthcare supply chain this year, shaking a once-predictable business model.

      Under intense operating headwinds, supply chain professionals looked to trim the fat from traditional distribution and supplier models in 2018. Some looked to Amazon Business, which generated more than a billion dollars in sales its first year alone by relying on its marketplace model, streamlined ordering and a “tail spend” strategy.

      1. Healthcare Dive discussed this and more with global healthcare leader at Amazon Chris Holt in an exclusive interview that drove a lot of interest. Read More »

GE, Medtronic among those linking with hospitals for value-based care

Value-based care was a buzzword over the past year, with providers, payers and healthcare execs across the board looking (or saying they’re looking) for ways to cut costs and improve quality.

Although legal barriers stemming from the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law persist, medical technology companies jumped on the bandwagon, with big names like GE, Philips and Medtronic coupling with hospitals to promote VBC initiatives. Read More »

  1. How Amazon, JPM, Berkshire Hathaway could disrupt healthcare (or not)

The combination of the e-commerce giant, a 200-year-old multinational investment bank and Warren Buffet’s redoubtable holding company joining forces to take on healthcare costs spooked investors in traditional industry players. The venture added a slew of big names to its C-suite, including Atul Gawande and Jack Stoddard for CEO and COO, respectively. Read More »

 

 

 

Amazon’s vision for the future of health care is becoming clear

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https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/17/amazon-vision-future-health-care.html

Image result for Amazon’s vision for the future of health care is becoming clear

KEY POINTS
  • Amazon made some bold first steps into health care this year.
  • We asked health-care experts to help us figure out where the company is going next.
  • Amazon could innovate in a lot of areas from pharmacy to subsidizing healthy food.

Amazon might take its time getting into new industries. But whether it’s online retail, cloud computing or groceries, its vision is typically ambitious.

Now, it’s health care’s turn.

This year, the company made a few early strides in the $3.5 trillion sector. Here are some of the highlights:

With all that in mind, we talked to some experts in the space to put the pieces together and figure out where Amazon might be going next.

Becoming Dr. Amazon

So imagine you have a sore throat. You let Alexa know, and it responds by asking if you want to book an appointment at the doctor’s office or get a virtual consult. You pick the virtual option, and the doctor through Alexa asks you about your symptoms. It decides to send a courier to your home with a tiny portable device to do some basic tests for things like strep throat. The strep test is positive, so the virtual doc sends over a prescription for an antibiotic. (We’re assuming that all the Amazon services are fully compliant with privacy and other laws.)

All this happens within a few hours, and you never need to leave your house to sit in a medical office or stand in line at the pharmacy.

That vision of the future might seem like science fiction, but it’s plausible to some health industry insiders.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Amazon starts out in health by providing things like over-the-counter medicines, and then moves into making the experience easier for managing your health,” said Tom Robinson, a San Francisco-based partner at Oliver Wyman, who consults with health and life sciences companies.

Robinson said it’s possible for Amazon’s Alexa to become a “front door” of sorts for health care. If it can provide virtual care, including diagnostic testing and pharmacy, it could become a “closed loop” system. It wouldn’t be able to deal with all problems, Robinson points out, as some can only be managed in person. But it could do a lot for basic ailments, preventative care and potentially even to help people with chronic medical conditions.

Food as medicine?

Now that Amazon owns Whole Foods, it could also help people eat healthier.

As Jason Langheier, CEO of a food-tech start-up called Zipongo, told CNBC, Amazon could create a web-based service for people to access meal plans, kits, recipes and even subsidies on fresh foods for those who are already suffering or at risk for disease.

It might inch closer to that, he suggests, by nudging people to eat healthier food options online, which could include some advertising and product placements. “With its underbelly of e-commerce, Amazon can touch the one thing (food) that has the greatest public health impact.”

We haven’t seen many signs of progress around in this area yet, although its employer group is likely looking at poor diet as a leading contributor of preventative (and expensive) illness.

 

 

 

Sean Parker: Health care’s big breakthroughs aren’t going to come out of Google or Amazon

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Sean Parker: Health care’s big breakthroughs aren’t going to come out of Google or Amazon

Sean Parker, the tech billionaire and cancer research philanthropist, may be a product of a Silicon Valley tech giant — but he’s skeptical about the impact those companies will have as they increasingly make a play in medicine.

“I just don’t think the innovations that are going to drive this revolution in health care and discovery are going to come out of Amazon or Google,” Parker said Tuesday at an event put on by the Washington Post. “Google has a big group that’s focused on this — they’re really smart, they’re not unsophisticated, they’re not naive — but I don’t think that’s where you’re going to see the big breakthroughs happening.”

Silicon Valley’s tech giants have invested significant resources in health care and science in recent years — and attracted big-name talent.

Amazon, along with JPMorgan and Berkshire Hathaway, has launched a new health care company aimed at developing solutions that could be implemented elsewhere in the U.S. health care system.

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has been scooping up some of the biggest names in health care. Google just hired David Feinberg, the forward-thinking CEO of the Geisinger health system, the Pennsylvania health plan and hospital system confirmed last week. Dr. Toby Cosgrove, the longtime president and CEO of Cleveland Clinic, joined Google earlier this year. And Dr. Robert Califf, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, last year joined Verily, Alphabet’s unit working on solutions to disease.

While coders face their own formidable challenges, Parker said, “tech people coming from tech to biology so dramatically underestimate the complexity of the human body. It’s not designed by us. It doesn’t work in ways that make sense.”

Parker, the former president of Facebook, has since become a major funder of research into therapies that seek to fight cancer by harnessing the patient’s own immune system through his foundation Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, which he founded in 2016. It has funded prominent research scientists across the country, most notably James Allison, one of the recipients of this year’s Nobel Prize in medicine.

 

 

Hospital executives believe Amazon can deliver on its hype as a healthcare disrupter

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https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/tech/provider-executives-survey-amazon-ceos-reaction-data-apple-google-telemedicine-mergers?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTjJRMlpERTBObU0yWldOaiIsInQiOiJPMDVjRGNQVzcxMjIzOGt1ZTZva0R2YU1PXC9mYkczVEtYVHNHWmZzSHc1TjU1RGRZZ1o4VVprZStEV3R3VWdXWFwvQlRoYVg4cGpzakZIOFFkMkthRnVPbVwvNEUwQ3ptOVozRGQ0U3IyVDFENENmZTErMjc3TDhRYlwvaUlrT1oxSWgifQ%3D%3D&mrkid=959610

Out of all the technology giants with ambitions in healthcare, hospital executives have overwhelmingly put their faith in Amazon, according to a new survey.

A full 59% of executives say Amazon will have the biggest impact, according to the survey by Reaction Data. Respondents cited resources available to the retail and technology behemoth, the company’s current influence and name recognition.

Comparatively, 14% said Apple, with its foray into EHRs, would be the most influential, followed by Google at 8% and Microsoft at 7%

Among healthcare CEOs—which accounted for 26 of the survey’s 97 respondents—75% said Amazon would make the biggest impact.

About 80% of survey respondents were from the C-suite, including chief nursing officers, chief financial officers and chief information officers. 

While Amazon alone may be generating significant excitement in boardrooms, a previous survey by HealthEdge shows consumers are largely skeptical about Amazon’s partnership with JPMorgan and Berkshire Hathaway.

Amazon’s push into healthcare “has been a shot across the bow for the entire industry,” Rita Numerof, Ph.D., president of Numerof & Associates told FierceHealthcare. The company’s consistent and deliberate investments indicate they are serious about making substantial changes within the industry.

“Amazon is known for its relentless focus on the consumer and its ability to use data systematically to identify and meet unmet needs in an accessible manner,” she said. “Unfortunately, access, consumer engagement, and segmentation haven’t been the hallmark of healthcare delivery.”

Executives were also bullish on telemedicine, with 29% saying the technology would have the biggest impact on healthcare, followed by artificial intelligence at 20%. That’s less surprising given that nearly 75% of respondents were already using telehealth in some way.However, 51% of respondents said telemedicine is revenue neutral, and key focus areas were split equally around rural patients, follow-up care and managing specific populations.

 

 

 

Amazon is buying online pharmacy business PillPack

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http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/amazon-buying-online-pharmacy-business-pillpack?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTURRMU5XSTBORFJrWlRobCIsInQiOiJ1MWVYbUtMUVBrenhwcXkrNHlnQmdhZm53M2ozb3BLR0dUa0pUTHdtNjVGVktSbU0zZ0Q2NXdTVjd2blJ3Y0VHKy83cnVaRndsaUE0NGVITTByU0dJKzMzWldwank2SkZLTmxPbk12ZVRKaWI1TUVLVjZhUSsrSGNwQkhrTmdKVSJ9

Image result for pillpack

Customers pay a monthly service fee, which is often covered by insurance companies and Medicare Part D plans.

Amazon announced today it is buying PillPack, giving the online giant the ability to ship prescription drugs around the country.

Walmart was reportedly in talks to buy PillPack, but Amazon stepped in with a $1 billion offer. The deal is expected to close during the second half of 2018.

The deal follows Amazon’s offer of a Prime membership to Medicaid beneficiaries in a move seen as direct competition to Walmart.

Shares of CVS Health, which is going through the regulatory process to merge with Aetna, fell after Thursday’s announcement, as did shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance and Rite Aid, according to CNBC.

PillPack is an online pharmacy that offers pre-sorted doses of medications and home delivery in all states except for Hawaii, according to the company.

It is in-network with all major pharmacy benefit managers, including CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, Optum Rx, Prime Therapeutics, Humana Pharmacy Solutions, Cigna, Aetna, MedImpact, EnvisionRx and CastiaRX.

PillPack is a pharmacy designed for people who take multiple daily prescriptions, delivering them in pre-sorted dose packaging, coordinates refills and renewals.

Originally founded in 2013, the company has raised around $100 million in funding. Customers using the platform pay a monthly service fee, which is often covered by insurance companies including Medicare Part D.

“PillPack’s visionary team has a combination of deep pharmacy experience and a focus on technology,” said Jeff Wilke, Amazon Worldwide Consumer CEO. “PillPack is meaningfully improving its customers’ lives, and we want to help them continue making it easy for people to save time, simplify their lives, and feel healthier. We’re excited to see what we can do together on behalf of customers over time.”

PillPack’s primary pharmacy is located in Manchester, New Hampshire, with its engineering, design, business operations and marketing teams located in in Somerville, Massachusetts and its advisory center and other corporate functions in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Geisinger CEO forgoes chief exec role at Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan health company

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https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/geisinger-ceo-forgoes-chief-exec-role-at-amazon-berkshire-jpmorgan-health-company.html

Image result for geisinger

Geisinger President and CEO David T. Feinberg, MD, who was reportedly one of the top contenders for the chief executive role at the Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase healthcare venture, said he will remain at the Danville, Pa.-based health system, CNBC reports.

People close to the hiring process told CNBC Dr. Feinberg was at one time highly considered for the position. However, Dr. Feinberg confirmed to the publication through a spokesperson he would not be leaving the health system.

“I appreciate being part of the conversation, which I believe reflects the accomplishments of the entire Geisinger team. I personally remain 100 percent committed to Geisinger and remain excited about the work we are doing and the opportunities ahead as we continue to deliver exceptional care to our patients, our members and our communities,” he said.

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett told CNBC June 7 the companies have selected a CEO for the venture and will publicly name the individual within two weeks. Sources familiar with the matter told CNBC the organizations did not announced the appointment June 7 because Dr. Feinberg declined the job.

Sources said the top 10 candidates for the position were asked to write a white paper detailing how they would fix the healthcare system, according to the report. From there, the companies narrowed down the candidate pool to three individuals. All three reportedly spoke with Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan, who referred his top two choices to Mr. Buffett, who passed along his top choice to Amazon Chairman, Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.

One of the three finalists was Owen Tripp, co-founder and CEO of healthcare company Grand Rounds.

Sources told CNBC Dr. Feinberg had been advising the group since the companies announced the venture in January, and emerged as a top contender for the role. He has led the 13-hospital Geisinger Health System since 2015.

Berkshire Hathaway Investment Manager Todd Combs has been the lead recruiter on the venture, CNBCpreviously reported. Other candidates who have been approached for the role include former CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt, former U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park, and Gary Loveman, former senior vice president of Aetna.

To access the CNBC report, click here.