There is now a major effort to lower the cost of prescription drugs. Will it work?
Epic is partnering with Amazon Pharmacy, Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs, Costco, and Eli Lilly’s LillyDirect to develop a tool that lets clinicians and patients compare prescription drug prices.
Through the prescription marketplace, slated to launch next summer, clinicians and patients at health systems using Epic will compare medication costs at different pharmacies—patients’ insurance prices and pharmacies’ cash prices—before the prescription is sent. Depending on the medication, the patient’s insurance plan, and the pharmacy, paying cash can sometimes cost less, Epic executives said in a press release.
Any pharmacy can share its cash prices with health systems using Epic, the company said.
Epic is bringing pharmacy price shopping directly into the doctor's office and the prescribing workflow, potentially eliminating the need for patients to discover after leaving the doctor’s office that their prescription is cheaper elsewhere or without insurance.
More than 40% of American adults report not taking their medications as prescribed because of cost, a KFF survey found. Epic currently offers a real-time prescription benefit feature in its electronic health record (EHR) platform that shows physicians what the patient will pay under their insurance, alongside generic alternatives. Epic claims that feature helped patients save more than $250 million in 2025.
Amazon Pharmacy has worked with Epic since early 2025 to help shape development of the prescription marketplace. "Getting medications should be simple, transparent, and convenient," said Tanvi Patel, vice president and general manager of Amazon Pharmacy. "Customers deserve to know what their medications will cost, choose whether to use insurance or pay cash, and get their prescriptions in a way that works for them—whether delivered to their doorstep or picked up at an Amazon Pharmacy kiosk where available."
Mark Cuban, co-founder of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs, said the prescription marketplace will give patients transparency. "If someone’s insurance says a prescription costs $500 but they can buy the exact same drug for $100 at CostPlusDrugs.com, they should know that before they leave the doctor’s office," Cuban said in a statement.
"Having integrated access to clear and transparent pricing enables patients and prescribers to make better decisions, reduce abandonment at the pharmacy counter, and close care gaps," said Ricky Li, assistant vice president at Costco, in a statement.
“Patients shouldn’t have to navigate a complicated healthcare system on their own to understand their options for filling a prescription,” said Jen Mazur, general manager of U.S. LillyDirect at Eli Lilly and Company. “Through LillyDirect, we’re focused on making access to prescribed medicines simpler, more transparent and more convenient. Giving patients and their healthcare providers greater visibility into pharmacy options and costs at the point of care is another important step toward reducing friction in the healthcare experience.”
Drugmakers, retailers and pharmacies are shifting toward greater price transparency and more direct-to-consumer models. Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs officially launched in January 2022 as an online pharmacy providing affordable prescription medications through transparent pricing.
Amazon has leveraged its reach with U.S. consumers to expand its online pharmacy business, layering on multiple savings programs such as RxPass and Prime Rx.
Eli Lilly and Company rolled out LillyDirect in early 2024 as an end-to-end portal for patients to access telehealth consultations and order therapies directly from the manufacturer.
Trump Rx launched in February as a direct-to-consumer portal that offers pharmacy coupons and directs patients to drugmakers’ websites, where they can buy certain brand-name drugs at government-negotiated discounts.
No comments:
Post a Comment