Amazon to Get into Health Insurance — and Other 2019 Predictions

After an eventful 2018 in the health technology field, some experts foresee more big changes ahead in 2019. Among the predictions from experts polled by CNBC:

What’s Next for Amazon?

Amazon will add more large pieces to reveal its broader health care strategy by becoming an insurer, pharmacy-benefits manager or both. This might become a necessity to compete with other integrated plays between PBMs and insurers such as CVS and Aetna and the Cigna-Express Scripts merger.

Pharma Companies to Flex Their Muscles

With the recent stock-market correction, 2019 may be a sweet spot for merger and acquisition activity to heat up. There could be multiple large transactions as drug makers look at innovators to bring in house so they can fuel “big science areas they feel they have been missing out on.”

New Tech for Mental Health

Look for new research on how widely used consumer technologies can track conditions like depression and anxiety. Important questions will be raised related to privacy and consent, as consumers start to realize that technology services they use regularly are collecting knowledge about their health.