Amazon launches US$5-a-month drug prescriptions with new prime add-on

USA —Amazon has launched a new prescription benefit for US Prime members, hoping to increase subscriptions and attract users to its pharmacy service.

While it does not stock every medication available, the add-on, RxPass does offer 60 generic medications used to treat more than 80 common health conditions, such as allergies, depression, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure, according to the company.

RxPass is designed for people who are uninsured or whose insurance does not cover certain medications, according to Amazon, and customers do not need health insurance to sign up for RxPass.

In a release, Amazon said Prime members who take two or more medications a month could save “significant time and money” with the RxPass subscription.

The service costs US$5 per month per person, with free delivery, said the e-commerce giant. RxPass doesn’t offer insulin or specialty medications and does not accept Medicaid or Medicare coverage.

Amazon’s healthcare portfolio has expanded to include telehealth, wearable devices, clinical research, nutrition, and other services.

The company launched its own online pharmacy in 2020, following the acquisition of PillPack in an effort to compete with drugstores such as CVS and Walgreens amid rising demand for affordable medications.

Amazon launched, then discontinued, its Amazon Care telehealth service, a virtual marketplace that connects consumers to telemedicine providers who can diagnose, treat, and prescribe medication for a variety of common health conditions.

It also announced in July that it would acquire primary healthcare provider One Medical valued at nearly US$4 billion.

Amazon also provides a Prime prescription savings benefit, which provides up to 80% off generic medications and 40% off brand-name prescriptions.

The move poses the biggest threat to major prescription players including CVS, Walgreens and Walmart, which all offer some form of prescription savings program

More than 150 million Americans take at least one of the drugs available through RxPass, Amazon says.

One must be an Amazon Prime member to sign up for RxPass, which costs US$14.99 per month or US$139 per year. The full list of 60 prescription medications has been published by the company.

The e-retailer faces competition in pharmacy from the likes of CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart. Amazon has not disclosed how its online pharmacy service has performed since its launch.

According to Business Insider, an August Morgan Stanley report found that Amazon Pharmacy did not rank as a top perk for Prime members based on a user survey.

Both healthcare stakeholders and those outside the industry have launched initiatives in recent years to manufacture and sell generics to patients.

Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and host of the television show Shark Tank, founded the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company about a year ago.

The online pharmacy eliminates the drug middleman by selling the medication at cost plus a 15% markup and pharmacist fee.

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