Epic Systems, the electronic health records company, announced a prescription price-comparison tool on Thursday that it is building with Amazon $AMZN Pharmacy, a unit of Amazon, and Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs.
The tool, called Prescription Marketplace, will show providers and their patients on Epic-based systems how the price of a drug varies from one pharmacy to another, both with and without insurance, ahead of the prescription being transmitted. Epic will release it in summer 2027, the company said in a news release.
Prescription Marketplace will show pharmacies' cash prices, meaning what a pharmacy charges someone paying without insurance, alongside what the patient would pay through an insurance plan. Paying cash can occasionally turn out to be the cheaper route, though it varies by drug, plan and pharmacy, Epic said. Health systems on Epic's software will be able to receive cash prices from any pharmacy that chooses to provide them.
"This will give patients transparency," Mark Cuban, co-founder of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs, said in a statement. "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 been collaborating with Epic since early 2025, contributing input on how the tool is designed. "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," Tanvi Patel, vice president and general manager of Amazon Pharmacy, said in a statement.
Costco $COST and Eli Lilly $LLY also gave statements. Ricky Li, assistant vice president at Costco, said integrated access to pricing "enables patients and prescribers to make better decisions, reduce abandonment at the pharmacy counter, and close care gaps." Jen Mazur, general manager of U.S. LillyDirect at Eli Lilly and Company, said giving patients and clinicians a clearer view, during the visit, of where a prescription can be filled and what it will cost is "another important step toward reducing friction in the healthcare experience."
Epic said over 40% of U.S. adults say they don't take their medications as directed because of what they cost. The company already offers a Real-Time Prescription Benefit feature that lets physicians see a patient's insured cost for a drug, along with generic options. Epic said patients collectively saved over $250 million during 2025 thanks to that feature.
Amazon Pharmacy, Costco and Eli Lilly will join Epic on a panel discussion on medication affordability at the Open@Epic conference in Verona, Wisconsin, on Wednesday, Oct. 21.