'AmBerMorg' Is Now 'Haven Healthcare'

(Image: Haven)

Three corporate giants have given their new, nonprofit health benefits baby a real name of its own.

The three parents — Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase — announced plans to form the Boston-based organization in early 2018. They held off on choosing a name, and some columnists referred to the organization as "AmBerMorg."

The managers of the organization said Wednesday that the name will actually be Haven Healthcare.

Haven Healthcare has offices in New York as well as in Boston, and it's hiring data scientists and software engineers, the organization says.

Vision

Managers have set up a website for the organization at http://www.havenhealthcare.com.

Managers say, in a list of answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs), that they hope to improve health care delivery by "pursuing a number of common-sense fixes, as well as innovative approaches, to address issues like making primary care easier to access, insurance benefits simpler to understand and easier to use, and prescription drugs more affordable."

Here's how managers answered the question, "Is Haven going to replace my existing doctors or insurance company?": "We are interested in working with clinicians and insurance companies to improve the overall health care system. We will be an ally of anyone who is working to make health care better for patients."

Managers say the first program enrollees will be the 1.2 million employees and family members at the three founding companies, but that, over time, Haven Healthcare "intends to share what it learns to help others."

Nuts and Bolts

Atul Gawande, a surgeon with no insurance experience, is Haven Healthcare's CEO.

The other top executives are Jack Stoddard, the chief operating officer, who has been a senior vice president at UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s Optum unit, and a national practice leader at Health Dialog, a population health management firm.

A Collision?

Managers of the organization formerly known as AmBerMorg picked a name that's similar to the name of another startup: Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company's New York-based Haven Life life insurance distribution business.

Correction: An earlier version of this article described Haven Life's headquarters location incorrectly. Haven Life is based in New York.

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