Verily might be entering the health insurance market according to a new report this morning. Alphabet’s health division would not become an insurer, but rather work with existing ones and other partners to lower patient costs.
According to CNBC, Verily wants to enter an area of the insurance space known as “population health” or “care management” that involves working to decrease the costs associated with care.
This involves analyzing health data — an area on which Verily and Google excel at — to find various efficient measures. Methods include home visits by nurses and making sure patients actually fill out their prescriptions upon leaving the hospital.
The end goal is ultimately to reduce the need for future visits, or preventative care — another area of interest for Verily.
To achieve this, Verily is looking to hire people with backgrounds in health insurance and has already added a former senior manager from Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. Recent job listings found by CNBC note the Alphabet bet looking for an experienced health-plan executive, physician lead, and a managed care analytics lead.
Meanwhile, Verily would offer the likes of governments, private insurance companies, or employers proposals on how to bring down costs. If reductions are met, they would share in some portion of the amount saved. The report notes that as more insurers enter the risk-based agreements with third-parties, the market could bloom from $20-25 billion yearly to a trillion dollars.
Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news:
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments