Retail giant Amazon has long been dubbed “the everything store” for its vast selection of goods and services. Their latest offering? Prescription drugs.
The company just announced RxPass, a subscription offering that allows shoppers to choose from among 50 different generic medications treating roughly 80 common conditions. They can fill as many prescriptions as they like for a $5 monthly fee. The list covers many of the most widely-used drugs, from statins to antibiotics to antidepressants to sildenafil, better known as Viagra.
Why so low? Speaking with CNN, Cornell University health expert Sean Nicholson offered that the service may boost revenue in other areas: People looking to Amazon for cheap medication may buy other goods or opt for their more expensive brand-name drugs via their Amazon Pharmacy service, which sells a wider variety of drugs.
The fine print: Owing to the low cost of the service, RxPass won’t accept insurance; Medicare or Medicaid recipients aren’t eligible to sign up, either. You also need to be an Amazon Prime member to use the prescription feature. (Prime is $14.99 monthly or $139 annually.) And if you’re in California, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Texas, or Washington, you’re out of luck; the service will not deliver to these states—at least not yet.
[h/t Associated Press]
Jake Rossen
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