Amazon’s Health Care Comes with a Bleak Prognosis for Patients, Privacy, Access
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Amazon announced today that it would offer health benefits for Prime members. Public Citizen opposed Amazon’s acquisition of One Medical, warning it threatened market competition, consumer data privacy and the integrity of the U.S. health care system. Bitsy Skerry, regulatory policy associate for Public Citizen, released the following statement:
“Amazon’s launch of its new health care program for Prime members is a prime example of a greedy corporate power grab that will worsen, not help heal, America’s broken health care system.
“With Amazon’s acquisition of health care provider One Medical, the prognosis is bleak for the safety and security of patients’ health data. Health care inequalities may be worsened, as the new program may disproportionately serve healthier and wealthier patients, enabling Dr. Amazon to cherry pick and serve people with more robust physical health.
“Amazon’s revenue jumped 13% in the third quarter of 2023, yet it still seeks to make more money by venturing into an industry where it can be a dominant market player, as it did when it acquired Whole Foods. The greed here is a sickness that One Medical cannot cure.”