Apple Is Betting Access to Data Is Enough to Launch an Insurance Business. What Would That Mean to Urgent Care?

Apple is likely to partner with an existing major player as a first step in to the healthcare insurance marketplace in 2024, according to an article published by Forbes. The whole idea seems to bank on the value of the rich data available via the Apple Watch line of products. The question is, how is that asset expected to translate to positive broker relationships and, ultimately, sufficient market share to support the business? History doesn’t support the premise. As Alan Ayers, president of Experity Networks, notes, even companies with healthcare bona fides have found the insurance marketplace to be unforgiving to new entrants. “Humana dropped out of the commercial markets because in broker requests-for-proposals (RFPs) there would be three positions: Number-one BCBS, number-two UHC, and then Humana as a weak number-three bidder alongside CIGNA and Aetna,” Ayers commented. “How’s Apple to gain share in the commercial market?” Even Haven, the health insurance venture of JP Morgan, Amazon, and Berkshire Hathaway failed despite the fact that Chase has twice the number of employees as Apple—and Amazon has 10 times as many. The question of how Apple’s move would affect various healthcare provider settings, certainly including urgent care, remains.