Costco shoppers will soon be able to pick up more than bulk toilet paper and rotisserie chicken — they can sign up for a Medicare Advantage plan with the Costco name on it.
Story Snapshot
- Costco and nonprofit insurer SCAN Health Plan announced an expanded partnership on August 18, 2026, marking Costco’s first comprehensive Medicare plan deal.
- The companies will start with jointly branded Medicare Advantage plans in two states and a Medicare supplement plan in a third.
- The deal builds on an earlier October 2025 partnership that made Costco a preferred pharmacy for SCAN members.
- The move fits a bigger trend of Medicare Advantage becoming a retail product, not just an insurance one.
What Costco And SCAN Actually Announced
SCAN Health Plan and Costco Wholesale Corporation said their enhanced partnership is designed to “bring greater value to seniors” and called it Costco’s first comprehensive tie-up with a Medicare plan.
The companies plan to roll out jointly branded Medicare Advantage products in two states and a Medicare supplement plan in a third state, according to reporting on the announcement. Costco operates 626 stores across the country, giving the plans a built-in customer base of loyal, dues-paying members.
Costco is partnering with nonprofit insurer SCAN Group to pilot Costco-branded Medicare plans that integrate coverage with several of the retailer’s health services. https://t.co/8NHPlpugEZ
— FOX 32 News (@fox32news) August 19, 2026
SCAN is not a stranger to Costco’s aisles. The two companies already struck a partnership in October 2025 that made Costco a preferred pharmacy for SCAN’s Medicare Advantage members, offering discounted medications, key vaccines, and vision benefits through the insurer’s eyewear allowance.
Days later, the companies hosted “SCAN Health Day” events at select Costco locations, sending plan representatives into stores to answer questions and sign up interested seniors. The new deal takes that relationship a big step further.
Why A Warehouse Club Wants In On Medicare
This is not a random side hustle for Costco. Medicare Advantage now covers slightly more than half of everyone eligible for Medicare, and both the Medicare Trustees and the Congressional Budget Office expect that share to keep climbing.
When roughly half the senior market is choosing private plans over traditional Medicare, a retailer with deep trust among older shoppers has real leverage to sell alongside its groceries and gas pumps.
SCAN, based in Long Beach, California, is one of the largest nonprofit Medicare Advantage insurers in the country.
Partnering with Costco gives it a distribution channel that traditional insurance sales teams cannot match: millions of members who already walk through the doors every week for prescriptions, eyewear, and hearing aids. Costco gets to extend its brand into a massive, recurring-revenue category tied directly to its existing membership base.
How This Fits The Bigger Medicare Advantage Story
Retailers teaming up with insurers is not new, but it is accelerating. Zero-premium Medicare Advantage plans have surged in popularity over the past several years, and insurers increasingly compete on branding, convenience, and supplemental perks rather than on medical coverage alone.
Costco’s warehouse-club model, built on bulk savings and member loyalty, lines up neatly with an industry now selling itself on cost savings and easy access rather than just claims paperwork.
The five largest national Medicare Advantage carriers have also grown more dominant, expanding their combined market share significantly over the past decade.
That consolidation gives companies like SCAN an incentive to find fresh, differentiated ways to reach seniors before bigger competitors lock up the market. A Costco-branded plan is exactly that kind of differentiator — a household name doing the marketing legwork insurers usually pay fortunes for.
What Seniors Should Watch For Next
The plans have not launched nationwide yet. Costco and SCAN are starting narrow, with Medicare Advantage offerings in two states and a supplement plan in one more, before any broader expansion.
Seniors shopping for coverage this fall should expect more details as open enrollment approaches, since Medicare-related search interest reliably spikes every October and November.
For shoppers who value straightforward pricing and are skeptical of government-run health programs, a private, retail-backed Medicare Advantage option carries obvious appeal.
Costco has built its entire business on transparent bulk pricing and member trust, and extending that model into senior health coverage is a natural, market-driven answer to a system many older Americans already find confusing and bureaucratic.
Costco is partnering with nonprofit insurer SCAN Group to pilot Costco-branded Medicare plans that integrate coverage with several of the retailer’s health services. https://t.co/xVwNGStjd0
— FOX 5 DC (@fox5dc) August 19, 2026
Whether this partnership remains a modest two-state pilot or becomes a template that other big-box retailers copy will depend on how well Costco members respond once enrollment opens.
Given the company’s track record of turning membership loyalty into new revenue streams, few in the insurance industry are betting against it.
Sources:
finance.yahoo.com, natlawreview.com, morningstar.com, brookings.edu
