When we launched Amazon Pharmacy in November 2020, we set out to build the world's most customer-obsessed pharmacy in an industry that is often inconvenient and confusing. Our goal is to make it convenient for customers to access and pay for their medications, and to offer a simple shopping experience that is as easy as any other purchase on Amazon.
In the past year, we launched two features that make it easier for customers to find and compare the price of medication: our insurance price checker, which enables customers to check their copay price before ordering, and the Amazon Prime prescription discount card, which provides Prime members savings of up to 80% on generic drugs and 40% on branded medications when paying without insurance.
Amazon Pharmacy is also helping reduce barriers that keep individuals from staying on medications prescribed by their health care providers. Patients frequently don’t continue treatment as prescribed, often due to challenges with cost or the burden of managing refills, according to a review by the Annals of Internal Medicine. To address this, we launched a six-month supply option for the most commonly prescribed medications, such as atorvastatin, lisinopril, and metformin. Select medications are available to Prime members for as little as $1 per month.
Our latest offering aims to improve access for Prime members who rely on Insulin Lispro to help manage diabetes. Insulin accounts for a large portion of diabetes spending and can be a large financial burden, particularly on individuals without insurance, according to a report from the American Action Forum.
“Customers with diabetes face many challenges including staying healthy, managing medications, and the out-of-pocket cost of therapies. By offering Insulin Lispro at a lower price, we are working to help reduce costs for those who lack adequate insurance coverage,” said TJ Parker, vice president of Amazon Pharmacy.
We are further simplifying how customers buy medication by clearly displaying savings without requiring downloading a coupon or copay card.
"While some manufacturer coupons and rebate programs can help customers lower prescription costs, research shows that patients only use them a fraction of the time they are available,” Parker said. “This is often due to lack of awareness or complexity of the programs. By working directly with manufacturers, we are able to remove barriers, make it easier for customers to find low prices, and ensure savings are passed on to our customers.”
The Prime prescription savings benefit is administered by Inside Rx. Restrictions apply on purchase of certain medications including Insulin Lispro. Average savings based on usage and Inside Rx data as compared to cash prices; average savings for all generics are 78%; 37%for select brand medications; learn more.
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