Costco has sold you rotisserie chickens, cheap gas, tires, even caskets. Soon it may sell you something a lot more personal: your Medicare coverage.
Costco announced on Aug. 18 that it’s teaming up with a nonprofit insurer to put its own name on Medicare plans. Here’s what that actually means for you — and why you shouldn’t rush in.
1. Here’s what Costco is actually doing
Costco is partnering with SCAN Group, one of the country’s largest nonprofit Medicare Advantage insurers, to sell Costco-branded Medicare coverage.
The plan is to start small: Medicare Advantage plans in two states, plus a Medicare supplement plan in a third. It’s the first time Costco has put its name on a Medicare plan.
Costco isn’t the first big-box name to try this — Walmart began selling Medicare plans years ago.
2. You can’t buy one yet — and nobody’s saying where
Don’t drive to the warehouse looking for it. The plans still need approval from the federal Medicare agency, and neither company will name the states or a launch date while that approval is pending.
What we do know: The three target markets cover roughly 5 million Medicare enrollees. SCAN currently serves about 460,000 members across Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Washington, so the launch is likely somewhere in that footprint.
3. Why Costco wants a piece of your health insurance
Costco’s entire business runs on memberships, and it keeps piling on reasons to renew — gas, travel, pharmacy, and now insurance. Paid memberships hit 82.9 million in early May, up 4.1% from a year earlier.
The two companies already know each other. Costco has been a preferred pharmacy for SCAN since late 2025, and SCAN members can already spend certain plan benefits at Costco.
The new plans are built to plug into what Costco already sells: pharmacy, vision, hearing aids and over-the-counter items. The partnership reflects “a shared understanding of what matters most to the seniors we serve,” Costco CEO Ron Vachris said.
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4. This lands in the middle of Medicare Advantage chaos
The timing is hard to ignore. Medicare Advantage is going through a brutal stretch. Insurers are trimming perks, raising out-of-pocket limits and dumping plans they don’t consider profitable enough to keep.
Humana alone intends to exit plans covering about 600,000 members in 2027. And roughly 2.9 million people were forced out of Advantage plans heading into 2026, according to Johns Hopkins researchers.
I’ve been a consumer reporter for more than 35 years, and here’s what that pattern tells me: A fresh brand on the box doesn’t change the economics underneath it.
5. A familiar logo doesn’t mean it’s the right plan for you
Costco has earned real trust with shoppers. But a warehouse brand on your insurance card won’t automatically make a plan the cheapest, or the best fit for your doctors, drugs and budget.
Medicare Advantage plans live and die by their networks. The specialist you’ve seen for years might not be covered where you live. Costs, drug lists and coverage rules vary from plan to plan and county to county.
That’s the whole reason it pays to compare Advantage plans against each other — and against Original Medicare, which can carry very different long-term costs.
6. What to do before you sign anything
When these plans do show up, treat them like every other option: Shop hard. Start with the free plan finder at Medicare.gov, which lets you compare coverage side by side.
Then call your local SHIP (short for State Health Insurance Assistance Program) — which has free counselors who don’t earn a commission by steering you toward any particular plan or company. There are plenty of free resources for sorting through Medicare, so use them.
And before you enroll, confirm your doctors and prescriptions are actually covered.
It also helps to see how plans stack up on member satisfaction before you commit.
A Costco-branded Medicare plan could turn out to be a smart deal. SCAN is a well-regarded nonprofit, and Costco doesn’t slap its name on junk.
But “convenient” and “best for you” aren’t the same thing. This is your health and your money — do the homework before you hand either one to a warehouse club, no matter how much you love the hot dogs.
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