Does Medicare Cover Hearing Aids at Costco? Advantage Plans and Costs

Medicare does not cover hearing aids at Costco under Original Medicare, and most Medicare Advantage plans that include hearing benefits route them through vendor networks that do not include Costco. In practice, that means most Medicare beneficiaries who buy hearing aids at Costco pay the full price out of pocket, though a few Medicare Advantage plans allow out-of-network reimbursement and some tax-advantaged accounts can soften the cost.

Why Original Medicare Pays Nothing Toward Hearing Aids

Medicare Part A and Part B explicitly exclude hearing aids and the exams used to fit them. Beneficiaries on Original Medicare are responsible for 100 percent of those costs.¹ The exclusion has been in place since the program began and has not been changed as of mid-2026.

Part B does cover diagnostic hearing and balance exams when a doctor orders them to decide whether medical or surgical treatment is needed.² A diagnostic exam is a different service from a hearing aid fitting exam. Medicare pays for the first and not the second.

Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policies don’t fill this gap either. Medigap helps with copays, coinsurance, and deductibles on services Original Medicare already covers, so there is nothing for it to supplement when the underlying service is excluded.³

Medicare Advantage: When It Might Help at Costco

Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans are sold by private insurers and often bundle hearing benefits that Original Medicare lacks. Nearly all Medicare Advantage plans now include some form of hearing benefit.⁴ What that benefit looks like varies sharply from plan to plan.

Benefits generally take one of two shapes. Some plans give a fixed dollar allowance per ear per year, typically $500 to $2,000, with the full range running from as low as $66 to as high as $4,000 and an average near $960. Others use a copay-per-device structure tied to technology tiers, often $199 to $1,249 per aid. More than a quarter of plans limit new aids to one pair every two years, and some stretch that to every three years.⁵

The Costco Network Problem

Here is where Costco runs into trouble. Most Medicare Advantage hearing benefits are delivered through specific vendor networks such as TruHearing, NationsHearing, and UnitedHealthcare Hearing. Costco generally does not participate in those networks.⁶ A plan that requires in-network providers will not reimburse a Costco invoice at all.

A smaller number of Medicare Advantage plans do treat Costco as a covered or reimbursable provider, and PPO-style plans sometimes allow out-of-network purchases, though reimbursement rates vary.⁷ Before you buy, call your plan directly and ask two specific questions: is Costco in-network for hearing aids, and if not, will the plan reimburse any portion of an out-of-network purchase.

What You’ll Actually Pay at Costco

Costco Hearing Aid Centers sell four prescription hearing aid brands, all priced between roughly $1,600 and $1,700 per pair:⁸

Rexton Reach, starting at $1,599.99 per pair
Philips HearLink 9050, starting at $1,599.99 per pair
Jabra Enhance Pro 30, starting at $1,699.99 per pair
Sennheiser Sonite Rise, starting at $1,599.99 per pair

Those prices are well below industry averages. Prescription hearing aids typically run around $2,500 per device, roughly $5,000 a pair.⁹ The Kirkland Signature house brand was discontinued after the KS 10.0 model in late 2022 and has not returned.¹⁰

Each prescription purchase at Costco includes a free hearing test, real-ear measurement during fitting, lifetime follow-up appointments, a 180-day return period, a six-month warranty, and a one-time loss or theft replacement per device.¹¹

Costco also carries over-the-counter options: the Lexie B2 Plus Powered by Bose at $999 per pair (online only) and Apple AirPods Pro 3 at $249.99, which received FDA clearance as an OTC hearing aid in 2024.¹² OTC devices are intended for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss and do not include in-store fitting or follow-up.¹³

A Costco membership (starting at $65 a year) is required. Costco does not accept any insurance directly for hearing aid purchases and does not offer payment plans.⁶ You pay in full at the register and deal with any insurance reimbursement yourself.

How to Lower the Cost

Since Original Medicare won’t contribute and Costco sits outside most insurance networks, these are the levers Medicare beneficiaries actually have:

Call your Medicare Advantage plan before you buy. Ask whether Costco is in-network for hearing aids, what the dollar cap or copay is, and how often you can get new devices. The Medicare Plan Compare tool at Medicare.gov also lists each plan’s extra benefits.⁴
Run the numbers against your plan’s in-network option. If your plan offers, say, a $699 copay per device through TruHearing, compare it against Costco’s roughly $800 per device (half of a $1,600 pair). Weigh what each option includes for trial period, warranty, and follow-up care.
Try for out-of-network reimbursement. If you buy at Costco, you pay upfront and submit the invoice to your plan. Plans that require in-network providers will deny the claim; PPO plans with out-of-network benefits may pay something.⁶
Pay with HSA or FSA funds. Hearing aids, both prescription and OTC, qualify as medical expenses under IRS rules and can be paid with Health Savings Account or Flexible Spending Account dollars. Costco confirms HSA and FSA eligibility at its hearing centers.¹⁴⁸
Deduct the cost on your taxes. Hearing aids are deductible as a medical expense on Schedule A to the extent your total unreimbursed medical expenses exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income.¹⁴
Consider OTC devices for mild loss. The AirPods Pro 3 at Costco are an FDA-cleared OTC hearing aid for mild to moderate hearing loss and need an iPhone or iPad to set up. At $249.99 a pair they’re a low-risk starting point.
Factor hearing coverage into open enrollment. If hearing aids are a priority, choose a Medicare Advantage plan with that in mind during open enrollment (October 15 through December 7). Existing Medicare Advantage members can also make one plan switch between January 1 and March 31.⁴

If You Qualify for Both Medicare and Medicaid

Dual-eligible beneficiaries may have another route. As of 2023, 32 states and Washington, D.C., covered hearing aids for adults through Medicaid, and about 71 percent of dual-eligible beneficiaries age 65 and older lived in a state offering the benefit.¹⁵ Coverage rules vary: some states cover any degree of hearing loss, others set minimum thresholds, and the most common replacement cycle is once every five years. Check your state Medicaid program directly to see what applies.

Is This About to Change?

The Medicare Hearing Aid Coverage Act (H.R. 500), reintroduced in January 2025 by Representatives Debbie Dingell and Brian Fitzpatrick, would remove the Original Medicare exclusion for hearing aids and fitting exams.¹⁶ The bill had 26 cosponsors as of mid-2026 and has not advanced beyond its introduction in the House. GovTrack estimated a one percent chance of enactment.¹⁷ Until that changes, the exclusion stands, and beneficiaries buying hearing aids at Costco continue to carry the cost themselves.

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Medicare.gov. Hearing Aids
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Medicare.gov. Hearing and Balance Exams
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Humana. What Is a Medicare Supplement Plan
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MedicareResources.org. Does Medicare Cover Hearing Aids
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SeniorBenefitClient.com. Hearing Aids Covered by Medicare Advantage
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Healthline. Costco Hearing Aids
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Solace Health. How to Get Hearing Aids Through Medicare Advantage
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Costco. Hearing Aid Center
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Hearing Health Matters. Costco Hearing Aid Review
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HearingTracker. Costco Hearing Aids
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IRS. Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses
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