Why Berkshire Hathaway's health care project Haven failed

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Haven, the joint venture of three of the largest companies in America — Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B), Amazon (AMZN) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) — once threatened to disrupt the health care system of the U.S. But less than three years later, it unceremoniously fizzled out in February.

Other than a press release from Haven at the time of its disbanding, only JPM CEO Jamie Dimon has publicly addressed the failed venture. But Warren Buffett watchers may wonder if the Berkshire CEO will discuss the breakup and the state of U.S. health care at the conglomerate's annual shareholder meeting on May 1, which will be streamed live exclusively on Yahoo Finance.

The joint venture was formed with the goal of improving the health care experience and lowering costs of care for their employees in January 2018. As large employers, the trio saw firsthand how quickly the costs of health care were rising, as employer-based health care remains one of the largest sources of health insurance coverage in the country.

So why did it fail? Largely, the venture failed to take off because the U.S. health care system is just too complex to be disrupted, experts have said. Haven also faced competition from entrenched players in the health care system, and despite their size and reach, the three companies had trouble obtaining necessary data that could help them better control costs, the Wall Street Journal reported in January, citing people familiar with the project's budget. Moreover, the venture had unclear goals.

FILE- This combination of file photos from left shows Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, on Sept. 19, 2017, in New York, Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com, on Sept. 24, 2013, in Seattle and JP Morgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon on July 12, 2013, in New York. A health care venture created in 2018 by the three corporate giants to attack soaring care costs will shutter only a couple years after launching. A company spokeswoman said Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, that Haven will end operations in February. (AP Photos, File)
This combination of file photos from left shows Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, and Jamie Dimon. (AP Photos, File) · ASSOCIATED PRESS

All told, the failure of Haven was “not so much because employers or insurers had never tried to control costs. It was always unclear what new value-add Haven brought to the table," according to Loren Adler, an expert with the Brookings Institute.

Dimon, in his annual letter to shareholders on April 7, noted that even though Haven disbanded, JPM will "continue to build on what we learned," stating that the problems that existed when Haven formed in 2018 still exist.

"Our costs are more than twice those of the developed world without justification by better outcomes," he said. "We will invest in healthcare innovation and other approaches to improve the health and well-being of our employees and address this critical national issue. More details will be shared as we progress," he added.

Stakes in different parts of the health care system

The trio also failed to get their venture off the ground because they had stakes in different parts of the health system and, according to several reports, were never able to align their goals.