November 20th 2023.
Amazon is expanding its medical footprint in a big way. On November 8th, the company announced its new Prime membership healthcare benefit through One Medical, a company it owns. Neil Lindsay, Senior Vice President of Amazon Health Services, explained the move as an effort to make it easier for people to access the care they need and to help them stay healthy.
Prime members can access this service for $9 a month or $99 for a year. Families can add up to five memberships for $6 a month or $66 a year each, which is a savings of fifty percent off One Medical’s standard costs. In addition, Amazon Pharmacy benefits are available to Prime members, including the Rx Pass program, which charges a flat $5 fee for any eligible prescriptions every month. Prime Rx is another prescription savings program that allows members to save as much as eighty percent without insurance at Amazon’s pharmacy or any of the sixty thousand pharmacies nationwide.
Amazon’s acquisition of One Medical in February of 2023 for $3.9 billion sparked the American Hospital Association’s interest in Amazon’s growing interest in the healthcare industry. The FTC warned Amazon ahead of its purchase to proceed with caution due to possible misuse of consumer healthcare data for targeted advertising or e-commerce. Douglas Farrar, the FTC’s spokesperson, informed CNN that the commission is continuing its investigation into the merger and its potential harms to competition and consumers.
Despite the multi-billion dollar settlement of state and local lawsuits related to the American opioid crisis, Walgreens Boots Alliance, CVS, and Walmart remain atop the healthcare marketplace. Walgreens Boots Alliance, in particular, is still one of the largest pharmacy chains in the country with a commitment to being part of the solution, despite budget cuts. Walgreens and CVS were also dismissive of the impact of pharmacy worker strikes and emphasized their commitment to patient safety.
Amazon’s new healthcare service is a huge step forward and will no doubt have an impact on the future of the healthcare industry. It is clear that Amazon is serious about making their mark in the healthcare industry, and it will be interesting to see how they navigate the FTC’s investigation and the competitive landscape.
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