--- title: "Costco: Home Of The $1.50 Hot Dog... And Your Medicare Plan?" description: Costco is moving into Medicare Advantage with SCAN. 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And Your Medicare Plan? by [Maggie Conley](https://blog.mdrginc.com/author/maggie-conley) Nov 12, 2026, 2:04:10 PM  [In 2023, we asked whether Costco, home of the $1.50 hot dog, could also become home of your doctor.](https://blog.mdrginc.com/costco-home-of-your-doctor) Three years later, it’s going after something bigger: your Medicare plan.  Costco is partnering with SCAN Group to offer co-branded Medicare Advantage plans, according to [a September 2026 report published by Yahoo Finance](https://finance.yahoo.com/healthcare/articles/costco-expands-medicare-coverage-3-170026290.html). Federal approval is still pending. The companies are considering limited rollouts in three states, which haven’t been named yet, possibly before the end of 2026. SCAN Health Plan already serves nearly 460,000 members across 33 counties. Costco runs 655 warehouses in the U.S. alone. This is Costco’s first comprehensive Medicare partnership, and it won’t be the last move a retailer makes into medical coverage. ## **![Picture1-Nov-12-2026-06-25-53-6273-PM](https://blog.mdrginc.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Picture1-Nov-12-2026-06-25-53-6273-PM.jpg?width=624&height=417&name=Picture1-Nov-12-2026-06-25-53-6273-PM.jpg)**   ## **From A $29 Doctor Visit To A Medicare Plan** [When we first wrote about Costco’s entry into healthcare](https://blog.mdrginc.com/costco-home-of-your-doctor), the offer was simple. Through a partnership with Sesame, members could book virtual primary care visits for $29, along with online mental health appointments and low-cost lab panels. It was healthcare sold the way Costco sells everything else: transparent prices, no surprises, and less waiting. Medicare Advantage is a different kind of commitment. While a $29 visit is a single purchase, a Medicare plan is a year-long relationship that dictates which doctors seniors can see, which prescriptions are covered, and how much they’ll pay out of pocket. The plans would add pharmacy, vision, hearing, and over-the-counter Medflex benefits, and would connect with the health services Costco already offers.   ## ***Costco Already Owns The Relationship*** Costco’s advantage in the healthcare space is an established baseline of consumer trust. Its membership model is already a recurring, paid relationship that encourages loyalty; its warehouses already house pharmacies, optical centers, and hearing aid centers. For many seniors, Costco is a brand they’ve relied on for decades. Why not expand that relationship? *“Older adults want healthcare that is easier to navigate, more responsive to their needs.”* – Dr. Sachin H. Jain, CEO, SCAN Group and SCAN Health Plan That’s the same promise that made Costco’s $29 visit appealing in 2023: convenience, affordability, and transparency.   ## ***What This Means For Everyone Else*** - **For health systems**, network status matters more than ever. If a trusted retail brand builds a plan around a narrow network, being left out could mean losing patients who never thought of themselves as “shopping” for a hospital. - **For Medicare Advantage plans**, the competition is no longer just other insurers. It’s brands that seniors already visit every week, and Yahoo Finance’s report suggests Sam’s Club could follow Costco’s lead. - **For retailers already in healthcare**, the bar has moved. Clinics and pharmacy counters may no longer be enough to own the senior health relationship. ## ![Picture2-Nov-12-2026-06-29-52-4335-PM](https://blog.mdrginc.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Picture2-Nov-12-2026-06-29-52-4335-PM.jpg?width=459&height=338&name=Picture2-Nov-12-2026-06-29-52-4335-PM.jpg)   ## ***Brand Trust Isn’t The Same As Plan Trust*** *“There are still a lot of unanswered questions about this particular partnership.”* – Jenny Chumbley Hogue, Health Policy Analyst, medicareresources.org She’s right, and the biggest unanswered question is about consumers, not regulators. Seniors trust Costco to sell them tires and rotisserie chickens. Nobody yet knows whether that trust carries over to a decision about doctors, prescriptions, and fixed-income budgets. Which seniors would switch plans for a Costco name? Which would never consider it? And what would a competing plan or health system need to offer to keep them? These aren’t questions anyone can answer with opinions. They’re measurement problems, and the organizations that study them now will be ready before the rollout states are announced. ## The Bottom Line Retail healthcare is no longer a convenience add-on. With Medicare Advantage, Costco is moving from the edges of care toward the center of how seniors choose it. Health systems and plans that wait to see how the three-state pilot plays out will be reacting to a market that has already moved. At MDRG, we help healthcare organizations understand how consumers choose care and what makes them switch. If retail disruption is on your radar, **get in touch with us** today. Because the next time a senior picks a Medicare plan, they may start in the same place they buy their hot dog. For a deeper look at what's impacting Medicare choices in America, check out our recent report ["The Caregiver Effect."](https://info.mdrginc.com/the-caregiver-effect)   Are you eager to stay ahead of the curve in your industry? 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And Your Medicare Plan?](https://blog.mdrginc.com/costco-home-of-the-1.50-hot-dog...-and-your-medicare-plan) [Stay Or Switch Together: Medicare Advantage Retention Is A Household Issue](https://blog.mdrginc.com/stay-or-switch-together-medicare-advantage-retention-is-a-household-issue) [Trust, AI, and Very Sore Feet: Lessons From SHSMD 2026](https://blog.mdrginc.com/trust-ai-and-very-sore-feet-lessons-from-shsmd-2026) [Trust In The System And Trust In Your Doctor Are Two Different Things](https://blog.mdrginc.com/trust-in-the-system-and-trust-in-your-doctor-are-two-different-things) - [Core Competencies](https://www.mdrginc.com/what-we-do/core-competencies/) - [Careers](https://www.mdrginc.com/who-we-are/) - [How We Do It](https://www.mdrginc.com/how-we-do-it/) - [Contact](https://www.mdrginc.com/contact/) - [Blogs](https://blog.mdrginc.com) [![MDRG](https://blog.mdrginc.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/MDRG_June2021/images/footer-Logo.png?width=182&height=589&name=footer-Logo.png "MDRG")](https://www.mdrginc.com/) - - - - New Orleans, LA 70112 - [(504) - 821 - 1910](tel:(504)%20-%20821%20-%201910) - [info@mdrginc.com](mailto:info@mdrginc.com) © MDRG inc. 2021. 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