Costco is offering outpatient healthcare services to members for as low as $29 through a new partnership with Sesame, a healthcare marketplace that connects healthcare providers with consumers. The new service does not accept health insurance. Sesame said in a statement that this allows it to offer low prices.
Costco members can receive discount pricing on a range of healthcare services nationwide, virtually or in-person with a provider, Sesame said. These include:
- Virtual primary care for $29
- Health check-ups that include a standard lab panel and a virtual follow-up consultation with a provider for $72
- Virtual mental health therapy for $79
- 10% off of all other Sesame services including in-person appointments
Providers in the Sesame marketplace include primary care doctors and nurses, more than 40 health specialties, as well as labs and imaging centers.
“Quality, great value and low price are what the Costco brand is known for,” said David Goldhill, Sesame’s co-founder and CEO, and an author on healthcare reform. “When it comes to health care, Sesame also delivers high quality and great value – and a low price that will be appreciated by Costco Members when it comes to their own care.”
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Costco healthcare: How to get started
For Costco members looking to tap into the new service, you should create an account with Sesame and verify your Costco membership.
Costco is following a similar path to many other retailers as well as health insurers aiming to cut healthcare costs.These include Walgreens, which recently expanded further into value-based healthcare by announcing a partnership with Pearl Health. Pearl Health is a startup technology firm focused on primary care physicians transitioning away from fee-for-service compensation to value-based payments with the aim of reducing the total cost of care.
Select Health and its pharmacy benefits manager Scripius recently announced a partnership with the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs Company to give members access to more than 1,000 prescription products at potentially lower prices than traditional pharmacies. The collaboration encompasses medications for many common conditions including high blood pressure, certain cancers, dementia, asthma and diabetes.
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