Amazon Launches $5-a-Month Subscription Service for Generic Drugs

In its latest move into the healthcare and pharmacy business, Amazon announced the launch of RxPass, a new benefit for Prime members that offers patients access to commonly prescribed generic medications that treat more than 80 health conditions.

With RxPass, which is part of Amazon Pharmacy, Prime members can receive their eligible medications for a flat, monthly fee of $5, and have them delivered for free. Amazon says there are no hidden fees and no markups to the $5-per-month subscription. RxPass is now available in most US states.

“Any customer who pays more than $10 a month for their eligible medications will see their prescription costs drop by 50% or more, plus they save time by skipping a trip to the pharmacy,” John Love, vice president of Amazon Pharmacy, said in a company news release.

Prime members who typically take two or more medications per month to manage chronic or ongoing health conditions could save time and money with the $5 a month RxPass subscription, according to Amazon. Alternately, Prime members can enroll with the Prime prescription savings benefit to get discounts up to 80% off generic and 40% off brand name medications at more than 60,000 participating pharmacies nationwide, including Amazon Pharmacy and the PillPack by Amazon Pharmacy service.

Customers may use their HSA or FSA accounts when not paying with RxPass. Prime members with Medicare or Medicaid are not eligible to use RxPass, and it isn’t currently available California and Texas.

To enroll in RxPass, Prime members can go to Amazon.com or Amazon’s mobile app to create or update their Amazon Pharmacy profile. Once there, customers will be guided through a sign-up process that verifies their eligibility and prescription information.