Amazon Offers Coverage Checks to Help Patients Find Digital Health Benefits

Amazon has introduced a program designed to help consumers access digital health benefits.

These are benefits offered by insurance plans and employers to help patients improve their health and lower medical costs, but as the company said in its Monday (Jan. 8) announcement, awareness and participation are low.

The announcement cites Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing that employees leave close to 30% of their compensation on the table via unused benefits, while almost 25% of adults say they aren’t aware of all the benefits available through their health plan.

That’s in keeping with research last year by PYMNTS and Lynx which found that just 41% of older, insured consumers were very familiar with the products and services their health insurance covers.

As PYMNTS wrote, this is “a troubling fact considering that baby boomers and seniors tend to have more healthcare-related tasks to manage on a daily basis, from making appointments and filling prescriptions to bill payments.”

The research found that another 39% of baby boomers and seniors said they are slightly or somewhat familiar with their health plans’ coverage, while 21% reported being just slightly or not all familiar with what their health insurance offers.

“Many people aren’t aware of the health care benefits they’re eligible for, that are typically no cost or subsidized by their employer or insurance plan,” said Aaron Martin, vice president of healthcare at Amazon. “When customers are shopping for health-related products on Amazon, we can surface these additional health care benefits to them to provide even more support in improving their health, at no additional cost.”

The launch of Health Conditions is the latest example of Amazon’s continued push into the healthcare space, and follows November’s announcement that the company would begin offering Prime members healthcare services from One Medical, which Amazon acquired in 2021.

The $99-per-year — or $9 per month — program, gives Prime members access to things like virtual and primary care services through One Medical, while also letting, Prime members who take part in the program and live near a One Medical location schedule same-day and next-day remote or in-person appointments at the company’s primary care offices around the U.S.