Amazon completed its $3.9 billion acquisition of One Medical in late February, just after the clock ticked past the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust challenge time. However, the Commission’s investigations continue, and the merger can be undone if deemed a violation.
Big Tech has been moving into healthcare, and Amazon’s merger with the membership-based primary-care provider marks a big step for the e-commerce giant. One Medical has a $1 billion net revenue, 836,000 members, and more than 200 physical locations across the U.S.
“Together, we believe we can make the health care experience easier, faster, more personal, and more convenient for everyone,” Amazon Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy said in a statement.
The merger follows the company’s previous inroads into healthcare, including its 2018 $750 million purchase of online pharmacy PillPack (now known as Amazon Pharmacy), the launch of its own virtual clinic for chronic health conditions, and its offering of online generic prescriptions for Prime members.
For several months before the deadline, the FTC had been examining the merger, citing “possible harms to consumers that may result from Amazon’s control and use of sensitive consumer health information held by One Medical” as a reason for continuing their investigation, FTC spokesperson Douglas Farrer told Forbes.
The FTC is conducting two other probes into Amazon. First, following the company’s announcement that it would buy home-tech and robotics company iRobot for $1.65 billion; the FTC said it would investigate how Amazon would access data on consumer homes that iRobot holds. Also, the FTC is examining Amazon’s Prime program and its alleged manipulation of subscribers.
Information about a broad antitrust suit against Amazon’s business practices in several of the company’s departments circulated in February, according to Forbes.
In 2022, Amazon accused the FTC of “harassing” former CEO Jeff Bezos and Jassy when the FTC asked them to testify in its investigation of the Prime subscription business. The FTC has also gone after Meta for acquiring VR company, Within Limited, and Google for its digital advertising monopoly.
