Why Epic Is Launching a Prescription Price Comparison Tool

Currently, more than 40% of American adults don’t take their medications as prescribed due to cost concerns.

That’s why healthcare software company Epic is introducing a new offering called Prescription Marketplace. The product will show clinicians and health systems pharmacies’ cash prices for medications, as well as what the patient would pay with insurance. This will make it easier to compare what a medication costs with or without insurance at different pharmacies. 

“When a patient doesn’t take a medication because they can’t afford it, the medication doesn’t work — and today clinicians and patients can’t always see lower-cost options that could change that. Cost-driven non-adherence to prescriptions is a clear, measurable problem,” said Joel Jones, Epic’s VP of clinicals and therapeutics and patient safety officer, in an email. “Putting the lowest cost options, including cash, in the prescriber and patient workflow can help remove one of the biggest barriers to patients taking the medications they need.”

Sometimes the cost without insurance may be cheaper.

For example, “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,” noted Mark Cuban, co-founder of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs, in a statement. Cost Plus Drugs is one of the pharmacies helping Epic build the feature, along with Amazon Pharmacy.

Prescription Marketplace will be released in summer 2027. It builds on Epic’s Real-Time Prescription Benefit feature, which shows clinicians what the patient will pay with their insurance and provides generic alternatives. This feature has helped save patients more than $250 million in 2025, according to Epic.

One expert in the prescription medication space applauded the announcement, but noted that more can be done.

“The Epic announcement does give patients and doctors more price information,” said Jeff Park, president of Waltz Health, a digital prescription drug company. “That’s awesome. It’s directionally correct, a great step forward. But we shouldn’t expect them to sort through prices, their benefit rules, what’s covered, what alternatives are available, which pharmacy selections, which manufacturer programs, all that during a doctor visit. The technology should do that work in real time and bring it forward to the clinically appropriate choice without adding more steps.” 

He added that Waltz Health connects to payer and benefit information and brings together cash, specialty-drug, and direct-manufacturer pricing to support real-time decisions and help guide patients to the appropriate medication and pharmacy.

Ultimately, Epic aims to improve patients’ ability to adhere to their medications, Jones noted.

“Removing price surprises in provider workflows and MyChart will mean more informed choices and less back-and-forth among patients, providers, their office staff, and pharmacists,” Jones said. “We’d also like to make it easier for clinicians to know the difference between a medication that didn’t work because it wasn’t effective for the patient, and a medication that didn’t work because the patient never filled the prescription for it. Right now, that’s not always clear when a patient pays with cash.”

Photo: cagkansayin, Getty Images