VERONA, Wis. – With Prescription Marketplace, clinicians and patients using Epic at participating health systems can compare prescription costs across pharmacies before a medication is ordered, including both insurance-covered prices and cash-pay options.
More than 40% of American adults report not taking their medications as prescribed because of cost. Epic's existing Real-Time Prescription Benefit tool already helps address that challenge by showing clinicians a patient's out-of-pocket costs under their insurance plan, along with lower-cost generic alternatives. The feature helped patients save more than $250 million in 2025.
Building on that effort, Prescription Marketplace adds pharmacy cash prices to the comparison process, allowing clinicians and patients to view uninsured pricing alongside insurance-based costs. Because medication prices can vary based on the drug, pharmacy, and insurance coverage, paying cash may sometimes be the more affordable option, enabling patients to make more informed decisions before a prescription is sent.
"This will give patients transparency," said Mark Cuban, co-founder of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs, one of the pharmacies working with Epic to build this feature. "If someone's insurance says a prescription costs $500 but they can buy the exact same drug for $100 at CostPlusDrugs.com, they should know that before they leave the doctor's office."
Amazon Pharmacy has worked with Epic since early 2025 to help shape the development of Prescription Marketplace. "Getting medications should be simple, transparent, and convenient," said Tanvi Patel, vice president and general manager of Amazon Pharmacy. "Customers deserve to know what their medications will cost, choose whether to use insurance or pay cash, and get their prescriptions in a way that works for them—whether delivered to their doorstep or picked up at an Amazon Pharmacy kiosk where available."
"Having integrated access to clear and transparent pricing enables patients and prescribers to make better decisions, reduce abandonment at the pharmacy counter, and close care gaps," said Ricky Li, assistant vice president at Costco.
"Patients shouldn't have to navigate a complicated healthcare system on their own to understand their options for filling a prescription," said Jen Mazur, general manager of U.S. LillyDirect at Eli Lilly and Company. "Through LillyDirect, we're focused on making access to prescribed medicines simpler, more transparent and more convenient. Giving patients and their healthcare providers greater visibility into pharmacy options and costs at the point of care is another important step toward reducing friction in the healthcare experience."
Epic will release Prescription Marketplace in summer 2027.
Amazon Pharmacy, Costco, and Eli Lilly will participate alongside Epic in a panel discussion on medication affordability at the Open@Epic conference in Verona, Wisconsin on Wednesday, October 21.
