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posted by martyb on Thursday March 08 2018, @12:47PM   Printer-friendly
from the actually...599-IS-prime dept.

Amazon launches a low-cost version of Prime for Medicaid recipients

Amazon announced this morning it will offer a low-cost version of its Prime membership program to qualifying recipients of Medicaid. The program will bring the cost of Prime down from the usual $10.99 per month to about half that, at $5.99 per month, while still offering the full range of Prime perks, including free, two-day shipping on millions of products, Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Photos, Prime Reading, Prime Now, Audible Channels, and more.

The new program is an expansion on Amazon's discounted Prime service for customers on government assistance, launched in June 2017. For the same price of $5.99 per month, Amazon offers Prime memberships to any U.S. customer with a valid EBT card – the card that's used to disburse funds for assistance programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Program (WIC).

It could be a way to get users with certain health care requirements on board before Amazon launches its own health insurance company.

Also at USA Today.


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by NewNic on Thursday March 08 2018, @06:16PM (2 children)

    by NewNic (6420) on Thursday March 08 2018, @06:16PM (#649598) Journal

    Actually, it's more like a hybrid, but, with increased deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums it is transitioning to a pure insurance system.

    Yes, medical insurance may pay bills that you could afford, such as visits to your doctor, but how many people could afford any amount of surgery?

    The whole system is a mess, with a typical simple operation being "billed" at $50k - $100k, while the payments from the insurance for this operation are probably 1/10 of the billed amount. Similarly, I don't believe that my insurance actually pays $600 for a 15 minute consultation with a specialist doctor.

    Some years ago, my insurance paid for an operation for my wife. The insurance paid about 7% of the total billed amount and I had nothing to pay. And yet, had I not had insurance, I would have been luck to get a 50% discount, not the 93% discount that my insurance company got.

    Basically, the medical industry in the USA is ripping off the population.

    --
    lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
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  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 08 2018, @06:26PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 08 2018, @06:26PM (#649605)

    Whether or not I get a flu shot, or vaccinate my child, my premium remains the same.

    That's not risk management.

    Now, extrapolate.

  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 09 2018, @12:35PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 09 2018, @12:35PM (#649922)

    Whether or not I get a flu shot, or vaccinate my child, my premium remains the same.

    That's not risk management.

    Now, extrapolate.