Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan say they plan to focus on their own employees, but Mendelson said that based on his conversations with people involved in the effort, he doesn't expect it to remain limited to that group.
"They're going to be using their own spending and resources as a laboratory. But I think their aspirations are bigger than their employee bases," he said.
The joint effort will look to find a more efficient and transparent way to provide health care services to their employees and families, the companies said.
"The health care system is complex, and we enter into this challenge open-eyed about the degree of difficulty," said Bezos. "Hard as it might be, reducing health care's burden on the economy while improving outcomes for employees and their families would be worth the effort."
Mendelson said it makes sense for the companies to concentrate on giving more information to their employees, since that could have a significant impact on both the cost and quality of health care.
"Experience shows that consumers will shop, and use price information, especially when it's paired with quality information," he said.
The health care industry has long sought to get Americans more involved in their health care decisions. That was a tall order when the cost of care was so difficult to find out. So the emphasis has been on making prices more readily available. The idea is that consumers will become better shoppers and help keep health care costs in check.
Penny Stock Analyst, not licensed, but may as well be...
