Amazon One Medical is rolling out a pay-per-visit virtual healthcare service for children ages 2 to 11 despite the slow growth of retail health services and trouble of rivals that are scaling back medical services. (Latanya Simmons Photo)
LATANYA SIMMONS
Amazon One Medical is rolling out a pay-per-visit virtual healthcare service for children ages 2 to 11 despite the slow growth of retail health services and trouble of rivals that are scaling back or getting out of the business.
The move by Amazon One Medical, which owns and operates more than 240 primary care offices across more than 20 U.S. markets that provide in-person care, comes as Walgreens exits the primary care business and a decision last year by Walmart to sell its virtual healthcare business and shutter dozens of in-store clinics.
CVS Health, too, has slowed the growth of some of its retail senior clinics in the face of cost pressures but has long offered virtual care medical visits available for adults and children 18 months and older via its MinuteClinic retail primary care business.
Still, Amazon executives say they see a void in the retail healthcare market among parents and guardians who are looking for quick and convenient healthcare options and expert medical advice from family physicians or nurse practitioners. And Amazon also sees the “pay-per-visit service” as “ideal for families without insurance or those who prefer not to use their insurance for occasional healthcare needs,” particularly at a time when healthcare costs are rising faster than recent years.
Amazon said “message-based visits” start at $29 and video consultations cost $49 and insurance, Prime memberships, or Amazon One Medical memberships are not required to use the pay-per-visit service, the online retail giant said.
“As a parent, I am all too familiar with taking a child who doesn’t feel well to urgent care and waiting too long, only to spend ten minutes with a clinician,” Bergen Elsa, general manager for Amazon One Medical Pay-per-visit said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “This service makes it easier for families to connect with trusted family care providers, day or night, saving time and money while providing peace of mind to parents and helping kids feel better sooner.”
The virtual care offerings include treatments for routine maladies like “pink eye, head lice, and common kids’ skin issues, including eczema, contact dermatitis, impetigo, fungal rashes (e.g. ringworm), bug bites, hand-foot-and-mouth disease, fifth disease, roseola, poison ivy and diaper rash,” Amazon One Medical said in statement. “Parents can also renew their kids’ EpiPen and asthma medications.”
The service is not designed to be a replacement for a child’s existing pediatrician or primary care doctor, Amazon executives said.
“We are here 24/7 to help parents who need quick medical guidance to determine the appropriate level of care when their child is developing concerning symptoms,” said Dr. Natasha Bhuyan, a family physician and national medical director for Amazon One Medical. “This service isn’t meant to replace a family’s relationship with their child’s pediatrician, but rather to serve as a convenient option for those ‘in-between’ moments for parents with time-sensitive concerns who don’t already have on-demand access through a One Medical membership.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2025/10/16/as-retail-health-market-roils-amazon-to-offer-virtual-care-for-kids/
