Amazon Pharmacy is rolling out coupons that “automatically” reduce customer costs for insulin to as … [+]
Amazon Pharmacy is rolling out coupons that “automatically” reduce customer costs for insulin to as low as $35 a month on more than a dozen diabetes care brands.
The online retail giant, which launched Amazon Pharmacy in 2020 and bought PillPack in 2018, is making expansion of healthcare services a priority under Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy. Earlier this year, Amazon closed its nearly $4 billion acquisition of One Medical, which operates doctor offices across the country and earlier this month expanded its virtual clinic to all 50 U.S. states.
The introduction of “automatic coupons” comes in the wake of President Biden’s push to extend to most Americans a cap on out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35. In August 2022, Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, which capped insulin costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $35 per month, but many other Americans with diabetes still struggle to pay for their insulin.
Meanwhile, there are still pharmacies that charge much more than $35 with costs and prices confusing and varying widely. An investigation earlier this year by a group of Democratic U.S. Senators including Elizabeth Warren and Reverend Ralphael Warnock who surveyed more than 300 U.S. pharmacies and found the uninsured paid an average price of $98 per vial.
For its part, Amazon executives say they want to bring more transparency to the market while offering customers a low-priced treatment option for the one in 10 Americans with diabetes and 8 million who use insulin to manage their condition.
“Customers can save time and money on the most commonly prescribed products from NovoNordisk, Eli Lilly, Sanofi, Dexcom, and Insulet—like insulin vials, pens, continuous glucose monitors, and pumps,” Amazon said Tuesday in its announcement. “With automatically-applied, manufacturer-sponsored coupons, many insulin brands are available to eligible customers starting at $35 a month. And, because it’s Amazon Pharmacy, customers get free delivery and 24/7 access to Amazon’s team of pharmacists.”
“With automatically-applied, manufacturer-sponsored coupons, many insulin brands are available to … [+]
While Amazon acknowledges coupons for prescriptions aren’t new, they have developed technology that “automatically applies eligible coupons at checkout, so customers won’t have to do any additional work to get the savings,” the company said Tuesday.
“Imagine not knowing the price of food or other essentials before being asked to pay at the cash register—that would be a terrible experience,” Amazon Pharmacy vice president John Love said. “The lack of upfront pricing in pharmacy is a pain point for customers that Amazon Pharmacy can help solve. Similar to how customers shop for the items they need on Amazon, we’re making it simpler to get critical medications.”