According to Amazon, its intention is to make it as easy as possible for patients to receive the best prices on medications. By integrating manufacturer coupons directly into the checkout experience, Amazon hopes to make obtaining prescription drugs more affordable for everyone, regardless of their financial situation.
Recent studies have shown that patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma, emphysema, obesity, and other conditions are less likely to take their prescribed medications as prescribed. This is because they have to calculate the coupon values themselves and clip them out of magazines or find them online. With Amazon Pharmacy’s new automated system, eligible patients will automatically save on their medications through discounts applied at checkout. This means that patients no longer have to focus on managing their medication prescriptions or Clipboarding coupons; everything will be taken care of for them by the Amazon Pharmacy system.
Given the high demand for discounts, especially among those with expensive prescriptions, it makes sense that many pharmacies are moving to make coupon acceptance easier. A recent study found that patients only used manufacturer-sponsored coupons 15% of the time they were available to them. With this move, pharmacies seem to be hoping that making it easier for patients to take advantage of these deals will lead to increased savings and better access to medication.
The use of manufacturer-sponsored coupons can be a useful way for patients to save on medications. However, there are some restrictions on their use, depending on the patient’s insurance and eligibility for state or federal health care programs.
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Since Amazon Pharmacy works with manufacturers to provide coupons for medications, it’s important to check back frequently so that you don’t miss any opportunities. If you can’t find a coupon for your medication, be sure to contact Amazon Pharmacy and ask if they’re aware of any new discounts.
In general, prescription drugs are expensive. However, Amazon Pharmacy provides discounts on generic and non-generic meds, up to 80% and 40% respectively through its Prime prescription savings benefit. This allows patients to save valuable money on medications they need. Additionally, because the medications are eligible for Prime free shipping, those who need medication quickly can take advantage of this benefit too.
With Amazon Pharmacy’s new RxPass service, Prime members in the United States can get as many generic versions of medications as they need for a flat monthly fee. This is an addition to Amazon’s already popular Rxservice, which covers 80 common ailments. While coupons can’t be used in addition to this service, it is another way that Prime members can save on their medication costs.
Given Amazon’s longstanding dedication to healthcare, it is no surprise that the company has been aggressively acquiring startups and launching new services in this space. PillPack, OneMedical, and Amazon Clinic are just a few of the recent acquisitions that have helped fuel the company’s ambition. In 2018, Amazon acquired online pharmacy PillPack for $7.9 billion, primary care tech platform OneMedical for $3.9 billion in 2022, and launched a telehealth service called Amazon Clinic. These efforts represent significant investments by Amazon into building out its healthcare offerings- and they easily rank among the most ambitious taken by any company in recent years.
