Costco Is Getting Into Medicare

Costco Is Getting Into Medicare

Wed, August 19, 2026 at 6:30 PM GMT+3 1 min read

• COST -2.45%

Key Takeaways

• Costco is partnering with SCAN Health Plan to launch its first Medicare-branded insurance products.

• The initial rollout includes Medicare Advantage and supplement plans in three states.

Costco has sold its members gas, vacations and caskets—now it wants to sell them Medicare Advantage plans.

The warehouse club and SCAN Health Plan, a California-based nonprofit insurer with about 460,000 members, announced Tuesday they'll launch Costco-branded Medicare plans, the retailer's first partnership with a Medicare insurer.

Why This Matters to You

More than half of Medicare beneficiaries now choose private Medicare Advantage plans, and where they enroll shapes their doctors, drug costs and extra benefits. Costco's entry means one of America's best-known retail brands is now competing for that decision.

The rollout starts small: Medicare Advantage products in two states and a Medicare supplement plan in a third, in markets covering about 5 million Medicare enrollees. The companies won't name the states or the timing until the federal Medicare agency signs off.

The plans will be sold inside Costco (COST) warehouses as well as through insurance agents and websites, though federal rules bar bundling them with a membership. SCAN CEO Sachin Jain said the products will tie into Costco's pharmacy, vision, hearing, over-the-counter and food offerings.

The move puts Costco's brand into a Medicare market that's worth more than $600 billion a year to insurers and covers 5 million enrollees, just as rising costs and new billing rules squeeze the Medicare Advantage business and are increasing costs for consumers.

Costco is framing the launch as a pilot: the retailer said it plans to learn from the first markets before going wider.

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