Retail giant Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) is furthering its foothold in health care with the acquisition of hybrid primary care provider One Medical (Nasdaq: ONEM) for $3.9 billion.
The San Francisco-based health provider will bring to the table its virtual and in-person care capabilities. This acquisition not only gives Amazon more primary care resources, but also behavioral health assets.
During One Medical’s first quarter earnings call, the provider announced its plans to expand its behavioral health offerings. Most recently, the company launched Healthy Mind, which is focused on mental well-being and resilience. It combines primary care visits with cognitive testing, wellness coaching and support from a therapist as needed.
The company first entered the behavioral health space in April of 2020 with Mindset by One Medical, a virtual coaching program designed to help promote mental health.
One Medical says its Mindset service is able to treat a number of behavioral health conditions including anxiety, alcohol abuse or misuse, ADHD and grief.
One Medical was founded in 2007. The company went public in 2020, through a $245 million IPO.
Meanwhile, Amazon has been itching to gain a larger reach in the health care space for sometime. While the online retailer has made moves in digital pharmacies and wearables, some of its biggest efforts have revolved around employee health.
In 2020, Amazon launched Amazon Care, an employer-focused hybrid health care provider. The service lets members connect to a clinician through chat or video. Members can also use the Amazon Care app to schedule an in-person visit.
Amazon Care inked a deal with virtual behavioral health provider Ginger, now a part of Headspace Health, to make the latter’s services an optional add-on for its members. Those opting into the service are able to access behavioral healthcare on demand with Ginger.
“We think health care is high on the list of experiences that need reinvention,” Neil Lindsay, SVP of Amazon Health Services, said in a statement about the acquisition. “Booking an appointment, waiting weeks or even months to be seen, taking time off work, driving to a clinic, finding a parking spot, waiting in the waiting room then the exam room for what is too often a rushed few minutes with a doctor, then making another trip to a pharmacy – we see lots of opportunity to both improve the quality of the experience and give people back valuable time in their days.”
Completion of the $3.9 billion transaction is subject to regular closing conditions, including approval by One Medical’s shareholders and regulatory approval. The companies did not provide an expected closing date.
Upon completion, Amir Dan Rubin will remain CEO of One Medical.
“The opportunity to transform health care and improve outcomes by combining One Medical’s human-centered and technology-powered model and exceptional team with Amazon’s customer obsession, history of invention, and willingness to invest in the long-term is so exciting,” he said in a statement. “There is an immense opportunity to make the health care experience more accessible, affordable, and even enjoyable for patients, providers and payers.”
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