Costco Teams With SCAN to Sell Medicare Advantage Plans

Costco Adds Medicare to the Warehouse Aisle

Costco is expanding beyond bulk groceries and rotisserie chickens into health insurance, announcing a partnership with nonprofit insurer SCAN Group to sell jointly branded Medicare Advantage plans 13. The retailer, long known for its $1.50 hot dog-and-soda combo, will now offer members a very different kind of deal: private Medicare coverage sold under a co-branded name 1. Coverage will roll out modestly at first — Medicare Advantage plans in two states, plus a Medicare supplement plan in a third — with company officials signaling more insurance products could follow later 789.

Why Costco Is Getting Into Insurance

By entering Medicare Advantage, Costco joins a growing list of consumer-facing brands wading into health coverage, following retailers and membership-based companies that have used their scale and customer loyalty to cross into insurance markets 3. The financial incentive is significant: Medicare Advantage is now an industry worth more than $500 billion, making it an attractive target for a company with Costco's massive, loyal membership base and reputation for value pricing 6. Partnering with SCAN, an established nonprofit insurer, gives Costco a way to enter a heavily regulated market without building an insurance operation from scratch 19.

The Broader Medicare Landscape

Costco's move lands amid a period of substantial flux in Medicare policy. The upcoming annual enrollment period — running from October 15 through December 7 — is the main window during which beneficiaries can switch plans or move into Medicare Advantage, and financial advisors are urging seniors to scrutinize their options carefully this year 4. Looking further ahead, the 2027 enrollment period is expected to bring even bigger structural changes, including the expiration of certain Part D subsidies and shifts in how Medicare Advantage payments are calculated, both of which could alter premiums and out-of-pocket costs for enrollees 2.

What It Means for Consumers

Taken together, the coverage suggests Costco's entry is less about disrupting Medicare Advantage overnight and more about testing the waters in select markets while positioning itself for future growth as the broader Medicare system evolves 78. For members, the appeal may lie in trust: shoppers already rely on Costco for discounted pricing on everything from tires to eyeglasses, and the company appears to be betting that goodwill extends to insurance decisions as well 13. Still, with major regulatory shifts looming in the next few years and enrollment deadlines approaching now, beneficiaries weighing a Costco-branded plan will need to look past the novelty and compare costs, networks, and benefits just as carefully as with any other Medicare Advantage offering 24. NPR's interview with a Wall Street Journal reporter underscored that the launch is being watched closely as a signal of where retail and healthcare are converging next 5.