Costco Launches Medicare-Branded Plans

A warehouse club and a nonprofit insurer announced their first partnership, launching club-branded Medicare plans and bringing a major retail name into consumers' enrollment choices.
More than half of beneficiaries now pick private Medicare Advantage plans, and that choice helps determine their doctors, drug costs, and access to extra benefits.
The rollout starts small, with Medicare Advantage products in two states and a supplement plan in another, reaching ~5M enrollees pending federal approval.
Plans will be sold in warehouses, through agents, and online; federal rules bar membership bundling, while benefits connect with pharmacy, vision, hearing, and food offerings.
The move enters a >$600B yearly market, as rising costs and new billing rules squeeze Medicare Advantage; the retailer called the launch a pilot.