Blue Cross Idaho partners with Amazon Pharmacy

Blue Cross of Idaho said Tuesday it has partnered with Amazon Pharmacy to offer at-home delivery of prescriptions to its members. It's one of the latest Blue Cross Blue Shield plans to team up with the company.

Through the arrangement, Blue Cross of Idaho members can transfer existing prescriptions to Amazon Pharmacy's platform to get at-home delivery. An Amazon Prime membership is not needed for this service, though users will need an Amazon account, according to the company. 

Related: Amazon inks pharmacy deal with Blue Cross plan

The service will be available to all of the plan's nearly 600,000 members and is expected to help improve access to medications and potentially reduce costs for customers, according to Steve Olson, vice president of pharmacy at Blue Cross of Idaho. 

"Idaho is a rural state, and some of our members may live 50 or more miles from the nearest pharmacy," Olson said. "Amazon also offers an easy shopping experience and members may see a reduction in the cost of a prescription, depending on their benefit design."

Other Blue Cross and Blue Shield affiliated plans that have partnered with Amazon for home delivery include Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon and Florida Blue, according to policy documents published by the plans as of October. 

Blue Cross of Idaho declined to confirm partnerships that other Blues organizations may have with Amazon Pharmacy. 

Idaho members will also have access to the MedsYourWay discount card, which allows patients to apply out-of-pocket costs such as co-pays and deductibles to help compare prices. Those claims would not be processed through Blue Cross of Idaho, a spokesperson for the insurer said. Members also may have the opportunity to save on costs by ordering medications using the plan's formulary, the spokesperson said, but they couldn't use MedsYourWay.

In August, Blue Shield of California partnered with Amazon Pharmacy as part of an annual $500 million savings plan along with Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. Amazon was expected to provide medication delivery as part of the agreement.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Blue Cross Blue Shield partnerships.