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Amazon Launches Online Pharmacy, Potentially Shaking Up the Industry

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  • Amazon launched its own online pharmacy Tuesday, a service that allows most customers in the United States to order prescription medicine to their homes. 
  • Amazon Prime members will receive free, unlimited shipping on medication. They’ll also receive up to 80% off generic drugs and up to 40% off brand-name drugs, even if they don’t have insurance. 
  • The announcement and launch of Amazon Pharmacy caused shares of Walgreens, Rite Aid, and CVS to fall Tuesday. 
  • Because more and more Americans are increasingly relying on home delivery during the pandemic, this could represent the beginning of a massive shift in the pharmaceutical industry.

Amazon Launches “Amazon Pharmacy”

Amazon simultaneously announced and launched Amazon Pharmacy on Tuesday, a new online service that could shake up the pharmaceutical industry as we know it.  

The pharmacy, an extension of the main site which has dominated the online retail space in recent years, will allow customers in the United States to order prescription meds directly to their homes. For Amazon Prime members, that includes free, unlimited delivery. 

According to Amazon, it also means massive savings on medications for Prime members — up to 80% for generic drugs and up to 40% for brand-name drugs. Those savings will come even if a customer lacks insurance. 

As far as insurance goes, Amazon says it’ll accept most forms, but the company has also gone a step further to inform customers about how to pay the lowest possible price for their medication.

“Before checking out, customers can compare their insurance co-pay, the price without insurance, or the available savings with the new Prime prescription savings benefit to choose their lowest price option,” it said in its press release.

Customers over the age of 18 in 45 states will have initial access to Amazon Pharmacy. Currently, the service is not live in Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Minnesota, but Amazon said it does expect to eventually serve those states.

With the service, doctors will be able to directly send prescriptions to Amazon Pharmacy. Since this is a new system, there’s likely going to be a heavy emphasis on stamping out fraud. Because of that, Amazon said it has tools in place to verify that a physician actually ordered a prescription.

Alongside that, while Amazon said it will deliver a mix of medication — everything from birth control to insulin to metformin — it also said it would not deliver Schedule II controlled medications. That includes opioids, which have fueled a deadly epidemic in the U.S. and have been linked to more than 470,000 deaths since 2000.

Shaking Up the Pharmaceutical Game

In addition to having doctors directly send prescriptions to Amazon, patients will also be able to request transfers from their existing retailer, whether that be CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, etc. That competition also resulted in stocks for those companies falling Tuesday morning. 

Amazon is poised to potentially reshape the pharmaceutical market because customers will now be able to fulfill prescriptions while in the midst of online grocery shopping or even late-night binge-shopping. That ease-of-access might mean people won’t feel the need to make a trip to traditional grocery stores like Walmart or Target.

The timing of this announcement is also extremely significant. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, more Americans have been increasingly relying on getting their medication through the mail. 

“We think this new benefit will add tremendous value to our members,” Jamil Ghani, vice president of Prime, said. “It’s relevant as folks try to do more from the comfort and safety of their homes.”

Still, Amazon is by no means the first company to offer home deliveries for medication. For example, both CVS and Walmart provide such services. 

Amazon’s entry into a market doesn’t guarantee its dominance.”  reporters for Bloomberg noted. 

“Amazon could find it difficult to quickly pry away customers from pharmacy chains. For many consumers, asking doctors to steer recurring prescriptions elsewhere is cumbersome.”

That’s because, in some cases, a switch might require an in-person office visit — a visit most people might not want to make right now unless they absolutely have to. On top of that, other customers might simply prefer to pick up their medicine in-person, especially if they need it filled right away. 

Will Amazon Pharmacy Share User Data?

Anyone who’s used Amazon knows that it employs personalized ads and shows customers items they might be interested in based on their search history.

According to TJ Parker, Amazon’s vice president of pharmacy, the pharmacy side will abstain from sharing pharmacy data with advertisers or marketers without permission. Instead, he said it will stay in full compliance with federal HIPAA patient privacy rules. 

“The information and experience you have inside the pharmacy is separate and distinct from the experience that you have on Amazon.com,” Parker said. 

See what others are saying: (CNBC) (Axios) (Business Insider)

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Survey and Census Data Shows Record Number of Americans are Struggling Financially

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Americans are choosing not to pursue medical treatment more and more frequently as they encounter money troubles.


A recent federal survey shows that a record number of Americans were worse off financially in 2022 than a year prior.

Coupled with recent census data showing pervasive poverty across much of the country, Americans are forced to make difficult decisions, like foregoing expensive healthcare. 

According to a recent Federal Reserve Bureau survey, 35% of adults say they were worse off in 2022 than 2021, which is the highest share ever recorded since the question was raised in 2014. 

Additionally, half of adults reported their budget was majorly affected by rising prices across the country, and that number is even higher among minority communities and parents living with their children.

According to recent census data, more than 10% of the counties in the U.S. are experiencing persistent poverty, meaning the area has had a poverty rate of 20% or higher between 1989 and 2019. 

16 states report at least 10% of their population living in persistent poverty. But most of the suffering counties were found in the South — which accounts for over half the people living in persistent poverty, despite making up less than 40% of the population. 

These financial realities have placed many Americans in the unfortunate situation of choosing between medical treatment and survival. The Federal Reserve study found that the share of Americans who skipped medical treatment because of the cost has drastically increased since 2020. 

The reflection of this can be found in the overall health of households in different income brackets. 75% of households with an income of $25,000 or less report being in good health – compared to the 91% of households with $100,000 or more income. 

See what others are saying: (Axios) (The Hill) (Federal Reserve)

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Montana Governor Signs TikTok Ban

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The ban will likely face legal challenges before it is officially enacted next year. 


First Statewide Ban of TikTok

Montana became the first state to ban TikTok on Wednesday after Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed legislation aimed at protecting “Montanans’ personal and private data from the Chinese Communist Party.”

The ban will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, though the law will likely face a handful of legal challenges before that date. 

Under the law, citizens of the state will not be held liable for using the app, but companies that offer the app on their platforms, like Apple and Google, will face a $10,000 fine per day of violations. TikTok would also be subject to the hefty daily fine. 

Questions remain about how tech companies will practically enforce this law. During a hearing earlier this year, a representative from TechNet said that these platforms don’t have the ability to “geofence” apps by state.

Roger Entner, an analyst at Recon Analytics, told the Associated Press that app stores could have the capability to enforce the restriction, but it would be difficult to carry out and there would be a variety of loopholes by tools like VPNs.

Montana’s law comes as U.S. politicians have taken aim at TikTok over its alleged ties to the CCP. Earlier this year, the White House directed federal agencies to remove TikTok from government devices. Conservatives, in particular, have been increasingly working to restrict the app.

“The Chinese Communist Party using TikTok to spy on Americans, violate their privacy, and collect their personal, private, and sensitive information is well-documented,” Gov. Gianforte said in a Wednesday statement. 

Criticism of Montana Law

TikTok, however, has repeatedly denied that it gives user data to the government. The company released a statement claiming Montana’s law “infringes on the First Amendment rights of the people” in the state. 

“We want to reassure Montanans that they can continue using TikTok to express themselves, earn a living, and find community as we continue working to defend the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana,” the company said. 

The American Civil Liberties Union condemned Montana’s law for similar reasons. 

“This law tramples on our free speech rights under the guise of national security and lays the groundwork for excessive government control over the internet,” the ACLU tweeted. “Elected officials do not have the right to selectively censor entire social media apps based on their country of origin.”

Per the AP, there are 200,000 TikTok users in Montana, and another 6,000 businesses use the platform as well. Lawsuits are expected to be filed against the law in the near future.

See what others are saying: (Associated Press) (Fast Company) (CBS News)

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How a Disney-Loving Former Youth Pastor Landed on The FBI’s “Most Wanted” List

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 “Do what is best, not for yourself, for once. Think about everyone else,” Chris Burns’ 19-year-old son pleaded to his father via The Daily Beast. 


Multi-Million Dollar Scheme 

Former youth pastor turned financial advisor Chris Burns remains at large since going on the run in September of 2020 to avoid a Securities Exchange Commission investigation into his businesses.

Despite his fugitive status, the Justice Department recently indicted Burns with several more charges on top of the $12 million default judgment he received from the SEC. 

Burns allegedly sold false promissory notes to investors across Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida. The SEC claims he told the investors they were participating in a “peer to peer” lending program where businesses that needed capital would borrow money and then repay it with interest as high as 20%. Burns allegedly also reassured investors that the businesses had collateral so the investment was low-risk. 

The SEC says that Burns instead took that money for personal use. 

Burns’ History 

Burns began his adult life as a youth pastor back in 2007 before transitioning into financial planning a few years later.  By 2017, he launched his own radio show, The Chris Burns Show, which was funded by one of his companies, Dynamic Money – where every week Burns would “unpack how this week’s headlines practically impact your life, wallet, and future,” according to the description. He also frequently appeared on television and online, talking about finances and politics. 

The SEC alleges that he used his public appearances to elevate his status as a financial advisor and maximize his reach to investors.

His family told The Daily Beast that he became obsessed with success and he reportedly bought hand-made clothes, a million-dollar lakehouse, a boat, several cars, and took his family on several trips to Disney World. His eldest son and wife said that Burns was paying thousands of dollars a day for VIP tours and once paid for the neighbors to come along. 

Then in September 2020, he reportedly told his wife that he was being investigated by the Securities Exchange Commission but he told her not to worry. 

The day that he was supposed to turn over his business documents to the SEC, he disappeared, telling his wife he was just going to take a trip to North Carolina to tell his parents about the investigation. Then, the car was found abandoned in a parking lot with several cashier’s checks totaling $78,000

FBI’s Most Wanted

The default judgment in the SEC complaint orders Burns, if he’s ever found, to pay $12 million to his victims, as well as over $650,000 in a civil penalty. Additionally, a federal criminal complaint charged him with mail fraud. Burns is currently on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. 

Last week, the Justice Department indicted him on several other charges including 10 counts of wire fraud and two counts of mail fraud. 

“Burns is charged for allegedly stealing millions of dollars from clients in an illegal investment fraud scheme,” Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, said in a statement to The Daily Beast. “Financial crimes of this nature can cause significant disruptions to the lives of those who are victimized, and the FBI is dedicated to holding these criminals accountable.”

His family maintains that they knew nothing of Burns’ schemes. His wife reportedly returned over $300,000 that he had given to her. 

She and their eldest son, who is now 19, told The Daily Beast they just want Burns to turn himself in, take responsibility for his actions, and try to help the people he hurt. 

“Do what is best, not for yourself, for once. Think about everyone else,” Burns’ son said in a message to his father via The Daily Beast. 

See what others are saying: (The Daily Beast) (Fox 5) (Wealth Management)

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