Amazon Care, the $1.6 trillion shipping giant's new healthcare upstart, just signed its first client, Insider has learned.
Amazon's medical-care service is working with Precor, a fitness company recently acquired by Peloton, Amazon and Precor confirmed. Amazon will be paid based on how many people are using the app, a person close to the matter said.
Amazon's healthcare effort started in 2019 as a pilot for employees but has expanded to serve other Washington-based companies and, starting in the summer, Amazon employees and companies in all 50 US states. It provides virtual care through a mobile app and home visits when needed, though the home visits are not widely available yet. Insider first reported on Amazon Care's goal to serve employers.
Amazon Care grew out of Amazon's frustration with its internal healthcare spend as a self-insured employer. Now the company is betting that it can ease the same headaches for other massive companies. Offering employees consistent access to primary and urgent care online can ward off unnecessary costs by helping people stay healthy and manage illness in cheaper settings than urgent-care clinics and emergency rooms.
Amazon Care is going up against stiff competition
The program has a long way to go in an industry that's more crowded and venture-backed than ever before.
Teladoc, the biggest public telehealth company by market cap, has been selling online care to employers for more than a decade, and upstarts like Omada already have hundreds of employer and health-plan clients, offering a range of care programs for chronic conditions like diabetes.
But grabbing its first customer is a big milestone for Amazon Care.
Peloton agreed in December to buy Precor for $420 million in cash, and the deal closed in April. Precor, based in Woodinville, Washington, makes commercial and at-home fitness equipment and technology that allows for interaction like setting personal goals.
Peloton bought the company in part to stand up domestic manufacturing — Precor has two plants in the US — and expand its presence in more hotels and other commercial settings. Precor has 800 employees worldwide, and Amazon Care is available just for the 385 of them who live in Washington, Precor told Insider.
The pandemic has affected many people's ability to receive routine care, Christopher "Skip" Wilson, Precor's director of brand and communications, said in a statement to Insider. Part of the company's responsibility to its employees is to help make healthcare and wellness as accessible as possible, he said.
"We are excited about this partnership with Amazon Care as it is an additional extension of service that we believe will make it easier for our employees and their families to receive the care they require so that small things don't become big things," he said.
