Costco steps into Medicare insurance with new SCAN Group partnership

Costco Wholesale has entered the Medicare insurance business through a new partnership with SCAN Group, according to a report published by Yahoo Finance on Aug. 20, 2026. The program is designed to bring Medicare coverage options under a Costco-branded lineup, including both Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare supplement (Medigap) plans.

Medicare Advantage is a type of Medicare coverage sold by private insurers that replaces Original Medicare for beneficiaries who choose it. Medicare supplement plans, often referred to as Medigap, are designed to help pay some of the gaps in Original Medicare costs. By offering both categories, Costco is effectively packaging two distinct approaches to Medicare coverage under the same retail identity, as described in the report.

The move is positioned as Costco’s first entry into the Medicare insurance market. The company’s branded retail proposition, built around membership and consumer value, is now extending into a regulated healthcare-adjacent product space that has historically been dominated by insurance carriers rather than retailers.

Under the partnership framework described in the report, SCAN Group is the insurance partner providing the Medicare plan structure while Costco provides the brand extension and distribution influence. The announcement, as summarized by the report, did not elaborate on enrollment targets, pricing, or the geographic footprint of the plans.

For Costco, the Medicare category could open a new channel for customer engagement that reaches beyond store shopping. Medicare beneficiaries often evaluate health coverage during defined enrollment windows, and plan availability can change year to year. Insurance products also bring recurring relationships through policy renewals, which are structurally different from the company’s traditional merchandise sales cycle.

For SCAN Group, aligning with a major national retailer could broaden marketing reach and improve brand visibility with consumers who may prefer to shop for healthcare coverage alongside everyday financial and household needs. The partnership also reflects a broader industry pattern in which insurers seek recognizable distribution partners to compete for Medicare members.

As with many insurance-market announcements, the publicly available details in the reported summary appear limited. The report does not specify key plan terms, such as premium levels, benefit design differences by state, coverage eligibility rules, star ratings, or how Costco-branded marketing will be executed (for example, via online channels versus in-store guidance). It also does not disclose whether Costco will handle any portion of underwriting, plan administration, or customer service, versus SCAN Group and related insurance entities.

What to watch next is whether Costco and SCAN Group will publish plan availability by region and clarify how the Costco brand will map to specific plan offerings. Market participants may also look for additional information about the scale of the partnership, including any expansion beyond initial states or product lines, and whether Costco will introduce additional Medicare products over time as the program matures.