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Epic announced Prescription Marketplace on October 15, 2026. The planned feature will let clinicians and patients using participating Epic health systems compare a medicine’s pharmacy cash price with the patient’s expected insurance cost before the prescription is sent. Epic says the service is planned for summer 2027; it is not yet a generally available consumer product.
What Epic announced
Prescription Marketplace is intended to put price options inside the prescribing workflow rather than leaving patients to discover the cost at a pharmacy counter. A clinician could review the expected insurance copay or coinsurance alongside cash prices from participating pharmacies, then discuss which option fits the patient’s budget and fulfillment needs.
The launch announcement names Amazon Pharmacy, Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs, Costco and LillyDirect at Eli Lilly as collaborators. Epic also describes a broader Pharmacy Prices network in which any pharmacy may share cash prices with Epic health systems. Pharmacies and vendors interested in joining can request information through Epic’s Technology Guidance Form.
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How the prescription pricing tool is expected to work
Epic has not published the final patient-facing screen, but its Open documentation describes real-time cash-price checking through the Nebula cloud platform. The intended process is:
- Select the medication and dose: The clinician chooses the prescription in the Epic workflow.
- Check available prices: Epic queries participating pharmacies for current cash prices and checks the patient’s insurance benefit information.
- Compare fulfillment choices: Results may include member-program pricing, delivery methods and pickup options, not just a single drug price.
- Discuss the trade-off: The clinician and patient can consider the insurance cost, cash cost, timing, pharmacy access and pharmacist support.
- Send the prescription: After the patient chooses an option, the prescription is sent through the appropriate fulfillment route.
The comparison is expected to use the actual medication and dose selected by the prescriber. A cash price does not automatically include every discount, membership condition, shipping charge or other fulfillment fee, so the final amount still needs to be confirmed with the chosen pharmacy.
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Which pharmacies are involved?
| Named collaborator | What the announcement establishes |
|---|---|
| Amazon Pharmacy | Named participant that can provide prescription fulfillment and delivery or pickup choices where available. |
| Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs | Named participant whose cash pricing could be shown for eligible medicines and locations. |
| Costco | Named participant; Costco says integrated pricing can help reduce abandonment at the pharmacy counter. |
| LillyDirect | Named participant at Eli Lilly, providing a direct channel for eligible Lilly medicines and services. |
| Other pharmacies | Epic says any pharmacy will be able to share cash prices with Epic health systems through the Pharmacy Prices network, subject to integration and participation requirements. |
Being named as a collaborator does not establish universal availability, a guaranteed price or coverage in every state. A prescription still requires a valid prescription and current local eligibility for the selected pharmacy or program.
Why comparing cash with insurance can matter
Epic says more than 40% of American adults report not taking medicines as prescribed because of cost. When a patient learns the price only after arriving at the pharmacy, the result can be an abandoned prescription, a delayed start or an unplanned change in treatment.
Insurance is not always the least expensive route. Depending on the medicine, the insurance plan, the pharmacy and any available discount or member program, paying cash can cost less than the copay or coinsurance. The planned comparison is designed to expose that difference while the prescriber can still help the patient choose an affordable option.
Mark Cuban described the goal as giving patients “transparency,” noting that someone facing a $500 insurance price should know if the same prescription is available for $100 through a cash program. Amazon Pharmacy executive Tanvi Patel said customers should be able to choose insurance or cash and select delivery or pickup. Costco’s Ricky Li linked integrated pricing with fewer abandoned prescriptions and fewer care gaps.
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What to compare before choosing an option
A lower displayed price is useful only if the option works for the patient. Compare the same medication, strength and quantity across each route:
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| Decision factor | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| Total cash price | Does the amount include required membership fees, shipping, dispensing charges and taxes? |
| Insurance cost | What is the copay or coinsurance, and will the purchase count toward the deductible or out-of-pocket maximum? |
| Discount conditions | Is the price tied to a manufacturer coupon, pharmacy membership or other eligibility rule? |
| Delivery or pickup | How quickly can the medicine arrive, and is pickup available at a convenient location? |
| Pharmacy availability | Can the pharmacy legally fill and deliver to the patient’s location? |
| Pharmacist support | What counseling, refill assistance and insurance coordination are available? |
| Prescription handling | How will the prescriber transmit the prescription, and can the pharmacy accept it for this medication? |
What has not been published yet
- The final launch date within summer 2027.
- The number of participating Epic health systems at launch.
- The states, pharmacies and medicines covered.
- The exact consumer workflow and comparison-screen design.
- Whether every listed collaborator will be available in every patient’s market.
- How often prices will refresh and how the system will display shipping, membership or coupon restrictions.
Until Epic publishes those details, patients should treat any price shown through a future implementation as an estimate to verify with the dispensing pharmacy, not a nationwide guarantee.
LillyDirect context
Eli Lilly reports that LillyDirect reached more than one million patients in its first two years. The company also reported that LillyDirect accounted for approximately 49% of new-to-brand Zepbound prescriptions in the fourth quarter of 2025. Those figures describe LillyDirect’s own reach and prescribing channel; they are not measurements of Epic Prescription Marketplace.
When will Epic Prescription Marketplace launch?
Epic’s announced target is summer 2027. Until then, the feature remains in development, and patients cannot assume that a particular Epic-connected clinic, medication or pharmacy already supports the comparison. When it becomes available, the practical benefit will be the ability to make the insurance-versus-cash decision before the prescription leaves the clinician’s workflow.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
