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When you think about Amazon, the first thing that may come to your mind is how you can use the site to shop and save money on everyday items. In recent years, the company has also been offering a way for people to save money on prescriptions with Amazon Pharmacy.
You may be wondering whether Amazon Pharmacy is worth your while and how much it can save you on prescriptions.
In this article, we’ll explore everything you need to know about Amazon Pharmacy so you can make an informed decision on whether to sign up or not.
Amazon Pharmacy launched in 2020 with the promise of bringing more convenience and pricing competition to the prescription marketplace.
On its website, Amazon Pharmacy says its goal is to build trust with consumers by promising to make the prescription refill process simpler by providing the following things:
Amazon Pharmacy is an online prescriptions management service powered by the world’s largest online retailer. The service provides a way for people to order and refill their prescription medicines and have them delivered to their homes all through Amazon’s website.
Along with the ability to manage your prescriptions online, Amazon Pharmacy also offers pharmacists on-call 24/7 and works with most insurance plans.
Only those aged 18 and over can use Amazon Pharmacy to order medicine, although parents and caregivers can manage online prescriptions for children after they’ve added them to their Amazon profiles.
For members of Prime, Amazon’s loyalty program, subscribers get added perks like free two-day delivery and RxPass, a $5-a-month-per-person ($60 a year) subscription service that provides free delivery on about 50 generic medications.
As you may know, Amazon Prime costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year. So you’ll have to do the math yourself to determine if Prime is worth it when you factor in your prescription needs as well as all the other membership benefits.
Amazon Pharmacy works like a digital drugstore by allowing you to manage your medication refills online. To get started with Amazon Pharmacy, you’ll need to log in to your Amazon account or sign up for one if you don’t have one already.
Even without logging in or becoming a member, you can browse subscription prices and see how much Prime members save on prescription medications with Amazon Pharmacy. You can also choose whether to use your health insurance or not to pay for the prescriptions.
To get started, search for and select the medication you were prescribed.
For example, let’s say you were prescribed Lipitor to manage your high cholesterol. When you type “Lipitor” in the search box, it will pull up the brand name and its generic counterpart.
Also on that page, you can see the medication’s details, including pricing with and without insurance. To see what you’ll pay with insurance, click the yellow button that says “Get Your Insurance Price” (see screenshot below).
In the case of Lipitor, Amazon Pharmacy quoted me a price of $8.90 as a Prime member vs. a retail price of $83.70 for non-Prime members. That’s a 90% savings!
Once you click on the prescription medication you want, in this case, the generic drug Atorvastatin, you’ll need to confirm:
Once you’ve selected a medication, Amazon Pharmacy automatically shows you some health information about it related to some of the data in your profile including:
To request a prescription transfer to Amazon Pharmacy, click the yellow “Transfer Rx to Amazon Pharmacy” button.
You’ll be taken to another page, where you’ll need to confirm the pharmacy that fills your prescription and the doctor who wrote it. Click the button that says “Complete Rx Transfer Request” to confirm your medication transfer.
After Amazon Pharmacy receives your prescription, their pharmacists review it and notify you when it’s time to place your medication order. Once you do so, your prescription medication will arrive at your doorstep.
Medical expenses, from insurance premiums, copays to prescriptions, can eat a big hole in your wallet over time. One way you may be able to save money on prescriptions is by using Amazon Pharmacy.
“What Amazon is offering is more transparent pricing and the ability to order online and have the meds delivered to you,” said money expert Clark Howard.
This post was last modified on May 24, 2023 2:59 pm
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