By Marc Gilman
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Key Takeaways
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Two of the country’s largest retailers have partnered with the same Medicare insurer within about a month of each other. Costco announced its SCAN Health Plan partnership August 18; Walmart announced its own SCAN partnership September 16.
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Walmart’s version is launching in Arizona and Texas, based on Walmart’s own press release naming, with enrollment for more than 2 million Medicare beneficiaries opening alongside standard Medicare Advantage open enrollment on October 15.
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Costco’s states haven’t been disclosed yet. The plan covers two states for Medicare Advantage and a third for a Medicare supplement, targeting roughly 5 million enrollees combined, pending CMS approval.
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Neither deal ties pricing or eligibility to a store membership. Federal rules prohibit it — both plans will be sold through normal channels (agents, websites, and in select stores) regardless of membership status.
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The two offers aren’t identical. Costco’s pitch centers on integrating pharmacy, vision, and hearing benefits with its existing retail operations. Walmart’s centers on an AI-driven nutrition and wellness tool tied to shopping data.
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SCAN Health Plan is the common thread. The same nonprofit Medicare insurer is behind both deals — a sign this may be the start of a broader retail-distribution pattern, not a one-off.
What’s Actually Happening
Within roughly a month, SCAN Health Plan — a nonprofit Medicare insurer serving nearly 460,000 members across 33 counties in California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, New Mexico, and Washington — announced co-branded Medicare Advantage partnerships with both Costco and Walmart. Neither deal is final; both are pending review and approval from CMS.
That timing is the real story here. A single retailer testing a Medicare partnership is a pilot. Two of the largest retailers in the country doing it with the same insurer within weeks of each other looks more like the early stage of a genuine distribution shift — Medicare shopped for the way people already shop for groceries and household goods.
Costco + SCAN: What We Know
Costco’s deal, announced via The Wall Street Journal on August 18, will start as a limited pilot: co-branded Medicare Advantage products in two states, plus a Medicare supplement (Medigap) plan in a third, covering an estimated 5 million Medicare-eligible people. Neither company has named the states, citing CMS disclosure restrictions while approval is pending — though Costco has floated a possible timeline of before the end of 2026.
A few things worth knowing:
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A paid Costco membership is not required to enroll. The plans will be sold in Costco stores, but also through ordinary agent and website channels, the same as any Medicare Advantage plan.
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This builds on an existing relationship, not a cold start. SCAN members have already been able to use certain benefits at some Costco locations, and the two organizations had already partnered on Medicare Advantage education before this expanded deal.
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It also builds on Costco’s broader healthcare push — the Costco Member Prescription Program (discounted prescriptions) and a virtual care partnership with Sesame.
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Costco has described the effort as a pilot it intends to learn from before deciding how far to expand it.
Walmart + SCAN: What We Know
Walmart’s deal, announced directly via its own corporate newsroom on September 16, is further along on specifics. The co-branded Medicare Advantage plan is expected to reach more than 2 million enrollees, with the companies targeting availability alongside Medicare’s standard open enrollment window, which begins October 15.
Walmart’s own press release doesn’t name the launch states in its body text — but the image file Walmart published with the announcement is titled referencing a launch in Arizona and Texas. Both states are already part of SCAN’s existing service area, which is consistent with expanding into an existing footprint rather than entering new territory.
The centerpiece of Walmart’s pitch is different from Costco’s: Everyday Health Signals, an AI-powered platform that lets participating members share wellness goals and receive personalized nutrition guidance and food recommendations based on their shopping habits — opt-in only, layered onto the plan as coaching and wellness support rather than a core benefit.
Walmart isn’t new to Medicare-adjacent services either: it’s provided in-store insurance support for over a decade, launched its own licensed insurance agency (Walmart Insurance Services) in 2020, and — separately from this SCAN deal — Walmart and Sam’s Club ran a program earlier in 2026 helping Medicare beneficiaries navigate new weight-management drug coverage across nearly 5,000 locations.
Why This Matters Beyond These Two Deals
If either pilot performs well, the more interesting question isn’t “will Costco or Walmart expand their own program” — it’s whether other large retailers with big senior customer bases follow the same playbook. Sam’s Club already has Medicare-adjacent infrastructure through its weight-management initiative. Other warehouse and grocery chains with a similar demographic mix could reasonably watch these two pilots closely.
For now, though, both remain limited, unapproved pilots — not a nationwide retail Medicare marketplace.
Cautions Worth Knowing
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Brand trust doesn’t transfer to how a claim or appeal gets handled. If a Medicare Advantage enrollee is denied a service, that dispute runs through the SCAN plan contract and Medicare’s appeals process — not a retailer’s customer service or return policy.
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A Costco- or Walmart-branded Medigap plan still won’t include drug coverage. Standard Medigap plans never have — anyone considering the Costco supplement option would still need a separate standalone Part D plan.
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Neither company has released pricing, network, or benefit details yet. Everything about actual value — premiums, which doctors and pharmacies are in network, formulary coverage — is still unknown for both deals.
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A familiar name doesn’t mean a better plan. The same due diligence that applies to any Medicare Advantage or Medigap plan — checking your doctors, your prescriptions, your actual costs — applies here too, regardless of which retailer’s name is on it.
Questions Worth Asking
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If you live in Arizona or Texas, would the Walmart plan’s network and formulary actually fit your current doctors and prescriptions — the same question worth asking of any plan?
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Does an AI-driven nutrition tool tied to your shopping data change your view of the plan, positively or negatively, once you know what data sharing it involves?
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If you’re not in one of these pilot markets, is there a comparable plan available to you now, rather than waiting to see if either program expands to your state?
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If a Costco Medigap option interests you, have you priced out a standalone Part D plan to go with it, since Medigap alone won’t cover prescriptions?
What To Do Next
Whether or not either of these pilots ever reaches your state, it’s a good prompt to check whether your current Medicare coverage still fits your needs. Let’s review what’s actually available where you live, and compare it against what’s known — and not yet known — about these new offerings.
Questions? Call (800) 927-9326 or email
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Sources: Anna Wilde Mathews, “Costco Sells Vacations, Gas and, Soon, Medicare Plans,” The Wall Street Journal (August 18, 2026); Walmart Inc. corporate newsroom, “Walmart and SCAN to Launch Co-Branded Medicare Advantage Plan” (September 16, 2026); Donna LeValley, “Costco’s Next Big Bulk Item: Medicare Advantage,” Kiplinger (August 19, 2026); Becker’s Payer, “Costco enters Medicare market through SCAN partnership.”
This article is for general educational purposes. Details of both the Costco/SCAN and Walmart/SCAN partnerships — including participating states, effective dates, and plan specifics — were not fully finalized as of publication and remain subject to change pending CMS approval. The Arizona and Texas states referenced for the Walmart partnership are drawn from Walmart’s own published image file naming rather than an explicit statement in its press release text, and should be confirmed once officially announced. This is not a recommendation regarding any specific carrier or plan. Consult a licensed advisor for guidance specific to your situation.
