Prescription Marketplace Will Let Patients Compare Pharmacy Cash Prices Before Leaving the Doctor's Office

Any pharmacy will be able to share its cash prices with health systems using Epic, so patients can choose the most affordable option—helping them fill their prescriptions at a time when more than 4 in 10 U.S. adults say cost has kept them from doing so.

VERONA, Wis., Oct. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- With Prescription Marketplace, clinicians and patients at health systems using Epic will be able to compare what a medication costs at different pharmacies—with and without insurance—before the prescription is sent.

More than 40% of American adults report not taking their medications as prescribed because of cost. Epic already helps clinicians keep costs down when they prescribe—today, its Real-Time Prescription Benefit feature shows physicians what the patient will pay under their insurance, alongside generic alternatives. That helped patients save more than $250 million in 2025.

Epic is now furthering that effort with Prescription Marketplace, which will show pharmacies' cash prices (what a pharmacy charges someone paying without insurance) alongside what the patient would pay through their insurance plan. Depending on the medication, the patient's insurance plan, and the pharmacy, paying cash can sometimes cost less.

"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.

Epic is a global healthcare software company that helps people get well, helps people stay well, and helps future generations be healthier. Founded in a basement in 1979 with three half-time employees, Epic now supports healthcare organizations in 17 countries, with more than 3,500 hospitals using Epic and over 195 million patients using Epic's MyChart patient portal to manage their care online.

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SOURCE Epic