Costco Now Accepts Flex Cards for Health Purchases
Medicare Advantage members can now use benefit cards for eligible items at more than 600 U.S. warehouse locations.
Updated on Oct. 27, 2026 in Senior Health
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Costco now accepts NationsBenefits Flex Cards at over 600 U.S. locations for the purchase of groceries and health items. The integration helps Medicare Advantage members use their benefit allowances directly during the checkout process.
Why it matters
This partnership aims to reduce friction for seniors by integrating healthcare benefit allowances directly into their routine grocery shopping. It follows a significant period of growth for the pharmacy segment, which reported mid-20s percentage sales gains in Q3.
Costco has expanded its payment acceptance to include NationsBenefits Flex Cards across more than 600 U.S. locations. It remains unknown how quickly additional locations will be added or when pending Medicare plan applications will receive regulatory approval.
The players
Costco
A global wholesale retailer providing pharmacy, optical, and wellness services alongside consumer goods.
NationsBenefits
A healthcare provider that manages benefit programs for health plans, including over-the-counter wellness cards.
SCAN Health Plan
A Medicare Advantage organization partnering with retailers to expand access to health insurance products.
The details
At checkout, the retailer utilizes a Basket Adjudication Service that scans items in real time to match eligible products against a shopper's benefit allowance. This automated system ensures that funds are only applied to approved over-the-counter wellness items and groceries. Transactions are processed by collecting de-personalized data based on ZIP codes for use by health plans.
Timeline
Q3 2026: Costco pharmacy business achieved mid-20s percentage growth in comp sales.
October 27, 2026: Costco officially confirms the integration of Flex Card support at U.S. warehouses.
Health Landscape
This initiative follows a period of rapid growth for the retailer's pharmacy business, which saw mid-20s percentage sales gains in Q3 2026. It reflects a shift toward embedding healthcare benefits directly into consumer retail to reach members of Medicare Advantage plans.
If you have a health plan that issues a NationsBenefits card, you can now use it to pay for eligible health and food items at participating warehouses. Check with your insurance provider to confirm that your specific plan is compatible with these retail transactions.
The takeaway
Using benefit cards at wholesale retailers can help stretch limited health allowances for groceries and wellness items. Verify your plan's eligibility for these transactions through your insurance provider before heading to the store.
Further reading
For more on how to navigate coverage, see our guide on Senior Health.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Progressive Grocer.
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