Who Knew Primary Care Could Be So Difficult? Amazon Care to Close

Amazon Care, the virtual and in-home primary care service developed by its parent company in 2019 to serve Amazon staff and later other employers, launched with great fanfare. It is ending with a whimper.

The online retailer said it will shutter the program by year-end, the Washington Post and other outlets reported, a surprising move given the company’s recent investments in health care businesses.

The move had been under consideration for many months, an Amazon spokeswoman noted, adding that the program was not a complete enough offering for the large enterprise customers it had been targeting. In short, workers were told, customers didn’t see enough value in the service.

Media reports also had circulated recently that six former Amazon Care employees complained about Amazon’s frugal approach to its primary care business, arguing that the company prioritized business over medical practice.

Amazon’s foray into offering care to its employees and others is far from over, however. The company’s recent $3.9 billion acquisition of concierge health care startup One Medical will give Amazon a new avenue to provide primary care to its employees and the 8,000 companies One Medical serves. The deal, which has not closed, could face antitrust scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission, the Post notes.