Amazon didn’t hestitate to fire up its marketing machine to promote the $3.9 billion acquisition of primary care provider One Medical.
Minutes after announcing it had closed the deal to purchase New York- and San Francisco-based One Medical on Wednesday, the online retailer posted a letter from CEO Andy Jassy atop its home page and incorporated the primary care provider into the website’s navigation bar alongisde Amazon Clinic, its direct-to-consumer telehealth storefront.
Jassy wrote that One Medical will cost $144 for the first year and $199 for subsequent years and highlighted its virtual and in-person options and Amazon’s pharmacy services. “We’re just at the beginning of what’s possible. Customers tell us there is a need to radically improve the healthcare experience, and we think we can help,” he wrote.The One Medical page includes information about services, locations, insurance coverage and Amazon Pharmacy.
In the last three months, Amazon launched Amazon Clinic and RxPrime, a $5 generic medication subscription service. Amazon announced the One Medical deal in July.
The Federal Trade Commission declined to block the acquisition but continues to analyze its effects on the marketplace. The agency has demonstrated a recent interest in how digital health companies collect, share and market patient health information.
