Doctor and Journalist Atul Gawande Picked for Dimon-Bezos-Buffett Health Firm

Atul Gawande, a surgeon and journalist who has written extensively about the U.S. failure to grapple with rising health-care spending, has been named to head a new health venture for Amazon.com Inc., Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. The new firm -- meant to help the three companies improve care and lower costs -- will be based in Boston and Gawande will start on July 9. It will be independent from the three firms, whose leaders formed the group as a way of contending with what Berkshire Chief Executive Officer Warren Buffett called a “tapeworm” eating the U.S. economy.