Amazon is offering a six-month supply of many common prescription drugs for just $6 as it turns the spotlight to its online pharmacy.
Generic equivalents for 13 drugs that treat diabetes, blood pressure, and other ailments (including a Lipitor substitute) are included in the offer. Two-day shipping is free, but a prescription is required.
Users can search for medications by name, as they would for other items on the site. The pharmacy, which launched in November, works with major insurers, but the company announced users might be able to save more by bypassing their insurer and using Amazon Prime.
“You can also choose to use Amazon Pharmacy without insurance—whether you have coverage or not, we’ll show you the copay price with insurance and the lowest price without insurance, including any savings for Amazon Prime members,” a FAQ on the site reads.
Amazon is looking to shake up the pharmacy business in a way similar to how it changed retail. Prime members will be able to save up to 80% on generic and 40% on brand-name prescription medications, the e-tailer said.
Stocks of CVS and Walgreens were off slightly on the news, but Amazon’s latest venture also puts the company in competition with drug discount company GoodRx, which roughly 5.7 million Americans use. That company claims to have saved Americans more than $30 billion on prescription drugs since 2011—and, since 2019, at a rate of more than $20 million every day.
