1 big meeting: Amazon's Neil Lindsay on One Medical and more
Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photo: Courtesy of Amazon.
Neil Lindsay stresses that Amazon's promise of convenience is the cornerstone of its health care strategy. Lindsay, SVP of Health Services, met with Aaron this week on the sidelines of HLTH as part of our "1 big meal" interview series.
Why he matters: After One Medical founder and former CEO Amir Dan Rubin's departure, Lindsay has a broader and more complex mandate.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
What's the status of the One Medical integration?
- "I think it's going really well. Culturally, we're very alike. I think we have very similar leadership principles."
- [In a separate interview with Erin, One Medical chief medical officer Andrew Diamond said a visit several years ago from Haven — the once high-profile (now shuttered) health care collaboration of Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase — prompted an early recognition that Amazon and One Medical were "kindred spirits."
- Asked further about the visit, Diamond said, "I was like, 'Is this really happening?'" While the meeting didn't lead to any immediate conversations about a deal, "It kind of prepared us for an acquisition."]
Could Amazon pursue M&A to supplement its One Medical buy?
- "We're interested in things where we can elevate the experience, but this isn't a big M&A project," Lindsay says.
What's the post-mortem assessment on Amazon Care?
- "Pre-pandemic — virtual care had become a big idea, but then obviously, the pandemic changed a lot of things. It changed how much virtual care was occurring, and also selling to enterprises. Their needs are changing too over time."
What's next?
- "You need to have ways to pay for this in an environment that is complex and expensive sometimes, and people have different levels of insurance. We need to innovate on new, unique things like RxPass or having Prime Rx.
- It's a long-term mission. It will never be done. Take me up in 20 years, and I'll ... give you a percentage of how far I think we're there. And it'll probably be a small number."
🥾 1 fun thing: Lindsay says he and his partner go for a six- to eight-mile hike every Sunday.
