By Tim Darragh, The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)
Sept. 05--The speaker stood in front of a collection of business officials and workers, proudly discussing plans for an intriguing new storefront to open in a few months at the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley.
The store's operators want customers to see the new retail facility not just as a place to buy things, he said, but as a place to have "an incredible experience ... . We want people to walk out of the building and say, 'Wow.'"
So what will be offered at this new store-to-be at the tony Upper Saucon Township mall? Designer duds? State-of-the art electronics? Exotic goods from around the world?
Try health insurance.
That speaker was Capital Blue Cross President and CEO Gary D. St. Hilaire and he was at the mall Tuesday to announce the nonprofit insurer's plans to open a storefront retail operation. The 6,700-square-foot store, which will be at Main Street and Gazebo Lane in the mall, should open in the next two to three months, he said.
"Capital Blue" will be more than a place to learn more about health insurance or pay a monthly premium, he said. "Our goal is simple, and that is to transform the way in which consumers interact with their health plans and potentially purchase ... health benefits or services," St. Hilaire said.
So besides handling the typical billing and health plan questions, staffers will be able to direct visitors on the spot to a registered dietitian who can help individuals figure out appropriate foods and meals based on their vital statistics. They'll have the opportunity to consult with a personal trainer and learn how to use weights or exercise machines on-site. They might want to finish that session off with a smoothie from the store's cafe, and let the kids try the interactive health learning center while they wait.
Company representatives said it will be open to everyone, even if they are not Capital Blue Cross customers.
Health care reform is driving the new approach to health, he said, noting that consumers are increasingly being asked to be responsible for their wellness. On the business side, reform is moving companies away from the fee-for-service model and toward a model where reimbursements are based on quality outcomes. So it will pay insurance companies to bring better health to individuals before they get sick, rather than focusing on helping them get better after they get sick.
Indeed, St. Hilaire said these kinds of efforts can reduce costs and improve quality and customer satisfaction.
That is important to Tom Croyle, executive director of the Lehigh Valley Business Conference on Health Care, because companies these days are looking to see which insurers can best keep their workers healthy. "Employers have changed their focus as well," he said..
While St. Hilaire noted some of Capital Blue's unique features, this will not be the first retail health insurance store in the Valley. Fellow "blue" competitor Highmark Inc. opened the first one in a strip center near the Wegmans supermarket on Route 248 in Lower Nazareth Township this spring.
Capital Blue Cross operates in 21 counties in eastern and central Pennsylvania, providing medical and dental insurance to 1.3 million people, according to its latest annual report.
tim.darragh@mcall.com
610 778-2259
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