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Opinion
Megan McArdle

Can Amazon Transform Health Care? It's Not a Crazy Idea

Three very large companies might just be able to turn employees into more responsible consumers. But there's a reason no one else ever has.
Jeff Bezos is improving workers' space, and next -- their health.

Jeff Bezos is improving workers' space, and next -- their health.

Photographer: Mike Kane/Bloomberg
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Health-care costs are a bit like the weather: Everyone talks about them, but no one ever does anything about it. They differ, however, in this regard: People want to do something about health-care costs. And yet, those costs have long outpaced inflation and are projected to reach one-fifth of our gross domestic product by 2025.

Companies, which provide much of the health insurance in this country, are understandably nervous about this state of affairs. They would like to do something to stop it. And three very large companies, with a lot of market power, have just announced that darn it, they’re gonna.