Reuters
- Teladoc fell 6% on Wednesday after a Business Insider report that Amazon is quietly building a company to offer primary health care to other major employers.
- An extension of Amazon Care, the service would provide in-person and online doctor visits that could be scheduled via a mobile app, according to the report.
- Shares of health insurance stocks also fell, with UnitedHealth Group and Cigna falling a whopping 2%.
- Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.
Shares of Teladoc and health insurance companies fell Wednesday following a report from Business Insider that said Amazon was quietly building a health care system for employees of other large companies.
An extension of Amazon Care, the service would provide in-person and online doctor visits that could be scheduled via a mobile app, according to the report. The service would bypass health insurance plans and middlemen and help reduce health care costs.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Business Insider reported that Amazon had already pitched the service to Zillow. It was unclear how many other companies were pitched.
Zillow confirmed it had been sent to the Amazon Care service, but nothing came of it, according to the report.
Read more: Amazon takes a closer look at the prescription drug trade. Here are 7 ways the tech giant is taking care of healthcare, and why 2 analysts think doctor visits are next.
Amazon’s push for healthcare has been in the works for years, most recently marked by the e-commerce giant’s launch of an online pharmacy this year. That move caused pharmacy stocks such as CVS and Walgreens to be significantly lower.
Something similar happened with Teladoc on Wednesday, which helps facilitate doctor visits via video calls. Teladoc shares fell a whopping 6%.
Health insurance stocks also fell after the report; the shares of UnitedHealth Group and Cigna fell by no less than 2%. Amazon’s stock is up nearly 1%.
Read more: Bank of America Says These 10 Stocks of COVID-19 Vaccine Manufacturers, Deliverers, and Distributors Will Benefit As Immunization Efforts Pick Up
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