Amazon Prime is normally $99/year after a free 30 day trial.
Last year some 82% households in the USA that make $112K+ had Amazon Prime, but only about half of households making under $68K has Prime, so it’s no surprise that Amazon is going after that demographic.
Amazon is now offering Medicaid and EBT cardholders the ability to buy Prime for just $5.99/month. That comes out to just $71.88/year instead of $99/year for regular Prime paid up front or $155.88/year for regular Prime paid monthly.
Prime for Medicaid and EBT cardholders isn’t as cheap as Amazon Student, which is just $49.99/year after a free 6 month trial, but it’s a nice savings off the regular rate for Prime.
You need to have an EBT card that matches the name on your Amazon account in order to enroll. You may need to prove your eligibility every 12 months and you can receive discounted Prime for up to 48 months.
If you already have an Amazon Prime membership and signup for Medicaid/EBT Prime you will get a pro-rated refund for the original amount paid.
One caveat is that like Amazon Student Prime, Medicaid and EBT Prime members can’t share benefits with household members. Regular Amazon Prime members can share the full Prime benefits with another household member. A nice benefit of that is that when there is a Prime member exclusive deal that is limited to just one per account, you and someone else in your household can take advantage of the deal.
Amazon Prime member benefits include:
- Exclusive access to discounted deals.
- Free 2 day shipping on all Amazon orders
- Free shipping on all orders from Woot
- Free instant video streaming
- Free Prime music
- Kindle lending library
- Free full-res unlmited photo storage in the cloud.
- Prime pantry access
- 30 minute priority access to lightning and Black Friday deals
- Access to exclusive sales like Prime Day, and other Prime member only sales.
- Prime Twitch Video Game Benefits
- If you have Amazon Prime you can select “FREE No-Rush Shipping” when making an order and you’ll get a bonus such as a $1 Amazon eBooks, digital music and videos credit, a $3 Amazon.com credit, a $5.99 Prime Pantry credit, a $20 Amazon Home Services credit, etc. You can view your no-rush credits here.
- Amazon Prime members can opt into Amazon Family where you’ll also get up to 20% off subscription orders of diapers and 15% off to complete unordered items from a baby registry.
- Several times per year Amazon Prime members can get free magazine subscriptions.
- Prime members also get access to Amazon Prints for inexpensive photo and photobook printing with free shipping.
- With Prime Reading you can browse the full version thousands of books and magazines free of charge from your smartphone, tablet, or Kindle via the Kindle app. Magazines include Popular Mechanics, Consumer Reports, People, Conde Nest Travelers, Sports Illustrated, and more. There are Harry Potter books, Calvin & Hobbes comics, Lonely Planet travel books, novels, and much much more to choose from, and it’s all free!
- Prime members who make a wedding registry can even save 20% off items that weren’t purchased off their registry!
Amazon offers free shipping with $35+ orders or get free next-day shipping on all orders with a free trial of Amazon Prime. Prime members can share benefits with a Household member here, allowing them to double up on Amazon Prime promos! A 6 month trial and discounted Prime membership is available with Amazon Student. EBT/Medicaid Cardholders can save on Prime Membership here.
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35 Comments On "Amazon Expands Discounted Prime To Medicaid Recipients"
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Wow, I dont Medicaid Recipients shud be spending their money on prime…
But great idea from Amazon.
I doubt your the one to be telling people how to spend their money..
its my money. I am paying for it with my taxes
You don’t pay taxes!
You idiot! Everyone, including the poor, pays sales taxes!
Amazon is all about impulse buying. Everyone like us buy junk on it all the time. You really telling me its appropriate pull these people into a trap so that they spend their limited money on it?
amazon greed is a fair point, but to demonize poor families and judging them by how they should spend their money and creating generalizations as you’ve done, is simply saying that poor people are dumb.
Agree here with Greg. If you’re on government income support, maybe you shouldn’t be spending your limited disposable income to ensure packages come a day or two earlier…
Maybe, those can’t afford basic necessities till last minute making expedited shipping even more a necessity, unlike the middle-class who can call it a luxury??
Becuz 2 day shipping, Prime Video, Photo storage, are so important to people on Medicaid…
Now if you want to tell me Amazon is offering them a better deal on Amazon Fresh or whole foods, then that would greatly benefit them.
In reality, it’s not just the 2 day shipping, it’s much more the free shipping below the threshold of $25, which makes it better for the low income people that could now buy cheap on amazon without having to buy other stuff to meet the threshold.
Again, if you can’t afford basic necessities to the extent you’re literally buying them until the last minute, then you shouldn’t be spending $70/yr on a premium service.
Disabled people frequently cannot get what they need readily except through Amazon.
I think this is a very lovely idea. I am a caregiver for a family member who is on Medicaid and living in a nursing home. She is bed-bound and Amazon is one of the few ways I can send her what she needs, given that she lives in a city without friends or relatives. She may not have much money but she still needs toiletries, over-the-counter meds, fresh socks, t-shirts, etc.
Greg, you have a very limited imagination in terms of what kind of people might be living on Medicaid. My relative was a very productive member of society, until struck down by a progressively debilitating disease.
Dan – how can I access Consumer Reports from Prime Reading. Amazon rep tells me that it is not available.
Only if someone has Medicaid or EBT. So as usual, the working class and working poor (and in some parts of the country, 68K is middle class) get shafted.
They are not doing these people a favour. They are doing this to make money off them. They categorized them in a way that would sound like they are trying to help them.
Fully agree. Well said.
Amazon is trying to enter the pharmaceutical line that’s why they are offering prime to Medicaid users so that they’ll fill their prescriptions thru Amazon…..
Off topic here . Just glad that Dan is maybe the only pro family blogger out there ! All others always complain about how they hate flying in their award first class seats and then see a family with child with them blah blah! And the following day they post something about a guy in business class seat and how he is his special or significant others blah blah.I stopped following them
I love the way everyone seems to think how its their business how someone else spends their money. Guess what, maybe we should tell people how to spend earned income credit on their tax returns? It’s also from someone who paid taxes. I think everyone should just mind your own business and not look into someone else’s. As long as someone doesn’t go overboard and doesn’t spend more than he can afford, he has the right to do so.
It is ultimately the taxpayers money. If the Government meant for you to spend money as you wish they would give you money, not a benefit. Tax refunds are money. SNAP and Medicaid are benefits, use it as given or lose it.
Amazon is doing this for pure profit. In that case, they should lower the price. They’ll get many more people signing up. It should be at least as cheap as Amazon Student. As of now, it’s still expensive for someone on a fixed income. So, yeah, Amazon ain’t doing this to be charitable. That’s laughable.
I am on Medicaid, and I will not be spending an extra $71.88/year to get Prime. This is just a way for Amazon to make more money. I can buy a sale priced toilet paper case if I need to meet the $35 free shipping threshold.
Next thing you know, they will be accepting food stamp for amazon fresh orders….
Shame on Greg. What a hater
The Amazon music is not free it cost 12.99 plus tax so pls fix the post
Prime music is free, the post is correct.
It’s says it cost 7.99 for prime members so how do you get for free will love to have it
Did you click on the link in the post?
Are you in the US?
Yes and yes
Do you have a primary or secondary prime account?
secondary prime account it makes a difference?
To Greg, Eli, RebYid, and all others that really need to get a life:
How in the world does Amazon’s perhaps not so altruistic decision to give anyone a discount have any impact at all on your life (you know, that thing I mentioned earlier that you really need to get – perhaps on Amazon)?
The amount I save on diapers with amazon mom discount more than offsets the monthly cost of discounted prime. What I save by not having to pad orders to get a good price is gravy.