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Costco will now sell Medicare along with your $1.50 hot dog.<\/p>\n
The warehouse retailer is partnering with nonprofit insurer SCAN Group to sell Costco-branded Medicare plans, starting with a limited rollout in just two states, plus a Medicare supplement product in a third, according to the Wall Street Journal<\/a>. Nationally, Medicare is a more than $600 billion business for insurers. The three target markets cover roughly 5 million Medicare enrollees, though the companies wouldn\u2019t disclose exact locations while approval from federal regulators is pending.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the latest example of Costco branching out well beyond groceries and bulk toilet paper. The company already sells travel packages and has been building standalone gas stations after running out of room for pumps at its existing lots. Membership won\u2019t get shoppers a discount on the Medicare plans (that\u2019s against federal rules) but the products will be sold in Costco stores alongside the usual insurance agents and websites.<\/p>\n SCAN CEO Sachin Jain said the plans are designed to tie closely into Costco\u2019s existing pharmacy, vision and hearing offerings. \u201cWe are trying to create something that\u2019s incredibly simple for people to use,\u201d he said. Costco executives are treating the whole thing as a pilot. \u201cWe plan to learn a lot from it,\u201d said Richard Stephens, the company\u2019s senior vice president for pharmacy.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Costco will now sell Medicare along with your $1.50 hot dog.<\/p>\n The warehouse retailer is partnering with nonprofit insurer SCAN Group to sell Costco-branded Medicare plans, starting with a limited rollout in just two states, plus a Medicare supplement product in a third, according to the Wall Street Journal<\/a>. Nationally, Medicare is a more than $600 billion business for insurers. The three target markets cover roughly 5 million Medicare enrollees, though the companies wouldn\u2019t disclose exact locations while approval from federal regulators is pending.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the latest example of Costco branching out well beyond groceries and bulk toilet paper. The company already sells travel packages and has been building standalone gas stations after running out of room for pumps at its existing lots. Membership won\u2019t get shoppers a discount on the Medicare plans (that\u2019s against federal rules) but the products will be sold in Costco stores alongside the usual insurance agents and websites.<\/p>\n SCAN CEO Sachin Jain said the plans are designed to tie closely into Costco\u2019s existing pharmacy, vision and hearing offerings. \u201cWe are trying to create something that\u2019s incredibly simple for people to use,\u201d he said. Costco executives are treating the whole thing as a pilot. \u201cWe plan to learn a lot from it,\u201d said Richard Stephens, the company\u2019s senior vice president for pharmacy.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n