CEO to be named soon for Berkshire, Amazon, JPMorgan healthcare venture - CNBC

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Amazon.com Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co. will likely name a chief executive for their healthcare joint venture within the next two weeks, billionaire investor Warren Buffett said in an interview aired Thursday on CNBC.

Buffett, who is Berkshire Hathaway's chairman, and JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon told CNBC they had selected a person for the top job running the company aimed at lowering patient costs.

"We've basically reached agreement," said Buffett. "We should have an announcement on that matter within maybe two weeks."

Buffett, famed for his love of junk food, has described U.S. healthcare costs as a "tapeworm" on American businesses, hurting their ability to compete with rivals in other countries.

While there is no guarantee the venture between Amazon.com, Berkshire and JPMorgan, which collectively employ more than 1 million people, will succeed in lowering costs, Buffett said it was well positioned to try.

"The resistance will be unbelievable, and if we fail, at least we tried," Buffett said last month.

Amazon.com's reputation as a disruptor prompted investors to sell shares of companies that might be hurt by the venture when it was announced in January.

These included drugmakers, health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) such as CVS Health Corp and Express Scripts Holding Co.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Bernadette Baum)