Amazon Extends Low-Cost Prime Memberships To Medicaid Recipients As It Battles Walmart
Today, Amazon announced that it is extending its discounted Prime memberships to Medicaid recipients, which is the latest tool in its arsenal to battle low-priced retailers like Walmart. Medicaid is yet another government program that provides assistance to low-income Americans, and to qualify for a discounted Prime membership, you must have a valid EBT or Medicaid card.
With the discounted pricing, Medicaid recipients will pay $5.99 per month ($71.88/year) instead of the standard monthly rate of $12.99 per month ($155.88/year). A regular Prime membership costs $99 per year, so low-income Americans are getting a roughly $28 savings if they keep it for the entire year.
We should note that all of the existing perks of a Prime membership are included with discounted counterpart, which means that you get two-day shipping, Prime Now (where available), Prime Video and Prime Music. It should also be mentioned that Prime members can get a 20 percent discount on diapers and wipes, which could be a boon for families with small children.
Transportation options can often be limited for Medicaid recipients, so having access to regular supply deliveries to your front door is highly desirable. According to the latest statistics, over 68 million Americans are currently enrolled in Medicaid, and roughly half are children.
And to address the fact that many low-income Americans might not have a credit card and instead might only purchase items using cash, the online retailer also launched Amazon Cash last year. With Amazon Cash, customers can go to participating brick and mortar retailer and load money into their Amazon account for online purchases.
