USA — Amazon Pharmacy has formed partnerships with notable manufacturers such as GSK, Kaléo, Novo Nordisk, and Dexcom to offer their brand-name drugs, including Trelegy, AUVI-Q, Wegovy, and the G6 and G7 continuous glucose monitoring systems, with integrated coupons.
According to Amazon, the coupons will be automatically applied to eligible patients’ orders during checkout.
However, it is worth noting that the new manufacturer coupons are not compatible with RxPass or the Prime prescription savings benefit, and they cannot be used by patients covered under state or federal healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.
This initiative is part of a larger debate surrounding the rising cost of drugs, where drugmakers argue that financial assistance is necessary to ensure patients can afford medication and adhere to a treatment regimen.
Conversely, insurers and employers argue that such assistance enables pharmaceutical companies to increase drug prices, passing the burden of financial responsibility to payers.
Amazon’s aim is to provide greater automatic savings for Amazon Pharmacy users, as it pitches its pharmacy services as a low-cost and convenient means of obtaining medication delivered directly to their homes.
In addition to this, Amazon Pharmacy offers a prescription savings benefit for Prime members, which can result in discounts of up to 80% off generic and 40% off brand-name medications at participating pharmacies, excluding insurance payments.
Earlier this year, Amazon introduced RxPass, a Prime membership benefit allowing users to fill unlimited prescriptions from a list of roughly 50 generic medications for US$5 a month.
Furthermore, the company has increased its presence in the pharmaceutical sector by acquiring online pharmacy PillPack in 2018 and expanding its distribution capabilities before launching Amazon Pharmacy nationwide two years later to compete with established drugstores such as CVS and Walgreens.
Nevertheless, Amazon’s pharmacy business has not attracted much interest from its Prime members, with only 2% stating that pharmacy was the reason for their Prime membership, according to Business Insider.
Amazon’s interest in the healthcare sector extends far beyond pharmacy services. In addition to its online pharmacy, the retail giant has expanded its healthcare portfolio to include telehealth, wearable devices, clinical research, and nutrition, among other things.
Last summer, Amazon unveiled plans to acquire One Medical, a primary care company, for US$3.9 billion, and in November, it launched Amazon Clinic, a virtual platform connecting consumers to telemedicine providers.
Despite its ambitious plans, Amazon has faced setbacks in the healthcare industry. For instance, the company terminated its hybrid care offering for employers, known as Amazon Care, at the close of 2022.
Additionally, Haven, a joint healthcare venture involving Amazon, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Berkshire Hathaway, floundered after a few years in operation, proving unsuccessful in its bid to reduce healthcare costs.
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