On Wednesday, Amazon announced that its $3.9 billion acquisition of primary care provider One Medical had been finalized.
In order to expand its presence in the healthcare industry and “dramatically improve” the experience of receiving medical treatment, Amazon agreed to purchase One Medical in July of last year.
With its purchase of online pharmacy PillPack for $750 million in 2018, the creation of its own virtual clinic for chronic diseases, and the introduction of prescription benefits for Prime members, Amazon has long had aspirations to diversify into the healthcare industry.
By the agreement, Amazon will have access to One Medical’s approximately 815,000 members and more than 200 physical medical offices spread across 26 regions.
Since CEO Andy Jassy took over from company founder Jeff Bezos in July 2021, the acquisition was the first significant deal to be announced. Jassy has said that he sees health care as a key area for expansion.
In a statement, he cited lengthy appointment wait times and the complexity of primary care as reasons why the health care industry is ready for change.
“Customers want and deserve better, and that’s what One Medical has been working and innovating on for more than a decade,” Jassy said in a statement. “Together, we believe we can make the health care experience easier, faster, more personal, and more convenient for everyone.”
Regardless of whether they are Prime members, Amazon said it would reduce One Medical memberships for American users to $144 from $199 for the first year.
After the Federal Trade Commission’s deadline to object to the deal passed, the closing took place. The FTC had been thoroughly examining the deal over the previous few months.
According to regulatory filings, the organization gave Amazon and One Medical a so-called second request for additional information on the deal last September.
The FTC reserves the right to initiate a complaint to undo the merger at a later time in any agreement it evaluates, even though Amazon waited the required amount of time to consummate the deal.
A few parties wanting to merge have received letters from the FTC, led by Chair Lina Khan, explaining that while they can no longer block the merger because the deadline has past, they are still looking into the matter and may take legal action in the future.
But, once two organizations have technically merged, it is frequently more challenging to dissolve a merger practically.
“The FTC’s investigation of Amazon’s acquisition of One Medical continues,” said FTC spokesman Douglas Farrar. “The commission will continue to look at possible harms to competition created by this merger as well as possible harms to consumers that may result from Amazon’s control and use of sensitive consumer health information held by One Medical.”
An agency official acknowledged that the FTC wrote to the corporations alerting them that the parties are concluding the deal at their own risk and that it still had particular concerns about the arrangement.
In March, the $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM by Amazon was approved by the appropriate authorities.
The FTC is still looking into the company’s Prime program and online marketplace as part of its ongoing investigation. Also, the organization is looking into Amazon’s $1.65 billion acquisition of iRobot, which was revealed last year.
