Amazon Finalizes Deal $3.9 Billion Deal To Buy One Medical

CHICAGO — Amazon company representatives announced the e-commerce giant has completed its $3.9 billion purchase of primary care company One Medical.

One Medical operates about 214 offices across 26 markets, with five locations in Chicago and suburban locations at Old Orchard shopping center in Skokie, at Deerfield Square in Deerfield and Oak Brook Promenade in Oak Brook.

Founded by 1Life Healthcare in San Francisco, the One Medical offers in-person and virtual care in exchange for annual membership fees. It went public in 2020 and currently has approximately 815,000 members.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said people in the future will not be able to believe the way primary health care is currently administrated. Jassy, succeeded founder Jeff Bezos as chief executive in 2021, said Amazon's purchase of the company would make health care easier, faster and more personal.

“For decades, you called your doctor, made an appointment three or four weeks out, drove 15-20 minutes to the doctor, parked your car, signed in and waited several minutes in reception, eventually were placed in an exam room, where you waited another 10-15 minutes before the doctor came in, saw you for five to 10 minutes and prescribed medicine, and then you drove 20 minutes to the pharmacy to pick it up," Jassy said in a statement, "and that’s if you didn’t have to then go see a specialist for additional evaluation, where the process repeated and could take even longer for an appointment."

The One Medical deal, which was first announced in July, had been under scrutiny by federal antitrust regulators. On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, revealed it would not sue to stop the sale, but a representative left the door open for further regulation down the road, according to the Associated Press.

“The FTC’s investigation of Amazon’s acquisition of One Medical continues,” an FTC spokesperson said in a statement. “The commission will continue to look at possible harms to competition created by this merger as well as possible harms to consumers that may result from Amazon’s control and use of sensitive consumer health information held by One Medical.”

Amazon previously purchased an online pharmacy called PillPack for $750 million in 2018 and rebranded it as part of Amazon Pharmacy, which offers access to generic prescription medications for a membership fee. CNBC reported the company has also aimed to develop at-home medical diagnostics and increased focus on its telehealth service, Amazon Care.