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Amazon officially becomes a health care provider after closing purchase of One Medical

<p>Amazon's months-long effort to <a data-i13n="cpos:1;pos:1" href="https://www.engadget.com/amazon-primary-healthcare-provider-one-medical-acquisition-140426086.html">acquire One Medical[/url] is finished — for now, at least. The company has officially <a data-i13n="cpos:2;pos:1" href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/one-medical-joins-amazon-to-make-it-easier-for-people-to-get-and-stay-healthier">completed[/url] its $3.9 billion purchase, giving it a primary healthcare provider with in-person and virtual treatment as well as lab tests. The successful buyout isn't leading to any immediate changes in One Medical's services beyond a temporary $55 discount on a one-year membership (now $144), but Amazon said last July that it planned a &quot;reinvention&quot; of healthcare with the takeover.</p><p>The completion comes just a day after the Federal Trade Commission said it wouldn't contest the buyout. However, the regulator also says it's still <a data-i13n="cpos:3;pos:1" href="https://www.engadget.com/ftc-investigating-amazon-buyout-of-one-medical-irobot-180221944.html">investigating the deal[/url] to explore potential anti-competitive effects and privacy concerns raised by Amazon's access to health data. An FTC official <a data-i13n="cpos:4;pos:1" href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/22/tech/ftc-amazon-one-medical-deal/index.html">told[/url]CNN the agency will warn Amazon it's closing the purchase at its own risk, and might still face a government challenge later.</p><span id="end-legacy-contents"></span><p>Amazon has spent years making deeper forays into healthcare. It <a data-i13n="cpos:5;pos:1" href="https://www.engadget.com/2018-06-28-amazon-buys-pillpack-healthcare-online-pharmacy.html">bought PillPack[/url] in 2018 and used the provider to launch an in-house <a data-i13n="cpos:6;pos:1" href="https://www.engadget.com/amazon-pharmacy-134356646.html">pharmacy service[/url].  The online shopping heavyweight also introduced an <a data-i13n="cpos:7;pos:1" href="https://www.engadget.com/2019-09-25-amazon-care-is-a-new-app-based-health-service-for-its-employees.html">app-based health service[/url] for employees in 2019 that it later <a data-i13n="cpos:8;pos:1" href="https://www.engadget.com/amazon-care-telehealth-app-healthcare-expansion-155308198.html">offered to other companies[/url]. In 2021, the company introduced a <a data-i13n="cpos:9;pos:1" href="https://www.engadget.com/amazon-alexa-hospitals-senior-living-communities-alexa-smart-properties-142048307.html">custom Alexa for healthcare[/url]. The One Medical move theoretically completes the picture by letting Amazon handle everything from minor doctor's appointments through to prescriptions.</p><p>Whether or not Amazon could endure an FTC challenge isn't clear. Commission chair Lina Khan is known to  be wary of Big Tech, and her stance even prompted Amazon to <a data-i13n="cpos:10;pos:1" href="https://www.engadget.com/amazon-ftc-chair-lina-khan-recusal-antitrust-investigations-181556108.html">ask for her recusal[/url] from antitrust cases. There's no certainty the FTC might succeed, though, and it recently <a data-i13n="cpos:11;pos:1" href="https://www.engadget.com/ftc-reportedly-loses-court-order-to-block-metas-acquisition-of-vr-developer-within-172220645.html">lost an effort[/url] to block <a data-i13n="cpos:12;pos:1" href="https://www.engadget.com/meta-completes-within-acquisition-223323552.html">Meta's purchase of Within[/url]. One Medical is considerably larger than Within, though, and its healthcare focus brings up privacy concerns that aren't always present in tech acquisitions.</p>

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