Amazon One Medical is a membership-based primary care service that combines in-person doctor visits at over 200 offices across the U.S. with 24/7 virtual care through an app. Amazon acquired the primary care company One Medical in 2023 and integrated it as an add-on benefit for Prime members, though anyone can join. The core idea is faster, more convenient access to a primary care doctor, with same-day or next-day appointments and round-the-clock telehealth.
How the Membership Works
Amazon Prime members can add One Medical to their existing subscription for $9 per month or $99 per year. Up to five additional family members can join for $6 per month each (or $66 annually per person). If you’re not a Prime member, One Medical still sells standalone memberships, though Prime pricing represents a discount.
The membership fee covers access to the platform and 24/7 on-demand virtual care. It does not replace health insurance. For scheduled visits, whether in-office or remote, One Medical bills your insurance just like a traditional doctor’s office. You’ll pay standard copays and any applicable fees for those appointments. The on-demand virtual visits (messaging and video chat through the app) come at no extra cost beyond the membership and are not billed to insurance.
Virtual Care Through the App
The app is central to how One Medical operates. It offers several layers of virtual care, all available around the clock:
- Treat Me Now: A messaging tool for common, non-urgent concerns like seasonal allergies, UTIs, skin rashes, cold sores, yeast infections, and cold or flu symptoms. You select your issue, answer symptom questions, and the virtual medical team responds with a treatment plan in roughly four hours.
- Urgent Video Chat: On-demand video calls with the next available primary care provider, with wait times varying by demand.
- Prescription Renewals: You can request refills for current medications and update your pharmacy. The virtual team typically responds within 48 to 72 hours. Controlled substances like stimulants or sleep medications require input from your primary care provider before a refill is approved.
- Provider Messaging: After visits, you can message your provider directly with follow-up questions as they send action plans and next steps.
You can also request emergency contraception, contraception counseling, and STI screening through the app.
In-Person Office Visits
One Medical operates physical clinics in more than 20 metro areas, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Austin, Atlanta, Miami, Phoenix, Portland, Houston, Dallas, the D.C. metro area, San Diego, Cleveland, Columbus, Raleigh-Durham, and parts of Connecticut and New Jersey. Select locations offer expanded hours so you can get same-day or next-day appointments.
At these offices, you choose your own primary care provider and schedule visits the way you would with any doctor. The difference is the scheduling experience: appointments are booked through the app, wait times in the office tend to be shorter than at traditional practices, and the system is designed to get you in quickly rather than weeks out. Copays and fees for these visits depend on your insurance plan.
Pay-Per-Visit Option Without a Membership
If you don’t want to commit to a membership, One Medical also offers a pay-per-visit model for virtual care. This option is available to adults ages 18 to 64 anywhere in the United States and covers more than 30 common health conditions. A message-based visit costs about $29, while a video visit runs around $49, though prices vary slightly by state. You won’t have access to in-person offices or a dedicated primary care provider with this option, but it works for occasional telehealth needs.
Insurance and Coverage
One Medical accepts health plans from most major insurance carriers, including select Medicare Advantage plans, Original Medicare, and Medigap plans. Medicaid is not accepted. For scheduled in-office and remote visits, One Medical files claims electronically with your insurer using standard billing codes, so your out-of-pocket cost depends on your specific plan’s copay structure.
The 24/7 on-demand virtual care included with membership is not billed to insurance at all. That means no claim is filed and no copay applies for those interactions. This is a meaningful distinction: your Treat Me Now messages and urgent video chats are effectively covered by the membership fee alone.
Virtual Care Reaches All 50 States
Even if you don’t live near one of the physical offices, the virtual care component works in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. This makes the membership potentially useful for people in areas without a nearby clinic. You can message providers, do video visits, and request prescription renewals from anywhere in the country. The limitation is that you won’t have access to in-person exams, lab work done on-site, or a local provider who can do hands-on assessments.
Privacy and Health Data
When Amazon completed its acquisition of One Medical, it drew scrutiny over how patient health data might be used. Amazon has stated that One Medical health records are kept completely separate from its retail and marketing operations. The service is fully subject to HIPAA, which prohibits using patient data for purposes unrelated to treatment, payment, or healthcare operations without the patient’s consent. In practice, this means your medical information from One Medical visits is not supposed to feed into Amazon’s advertising or product recommendation systems.