Blue Cross sees R.I. retail market

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS: Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island sales and customer-services counselors Rosa Tysor and Rafael Rodriguez speak in the company’s new Warwick retail store. The location drew 527 visitors in January and 377 in February. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS: Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island sales and customer-services counselors Rosa Tysor and Rafael Rodriguez speak in the company’s new Warwick retail store. The location drew 527 visitors in January and 377 in February. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

Despite a host of phone and online options, many consumers exploring the state’s new public health care exchange or the offerings of private insurer Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island have eschewed convenience to get their questions answered in person.
HealthSource RI, the state’s health care exchange, saw 19,573 walk-in visits at its contact center at 70 Royal Little Drive in Providence between October and mid-March, said Dara Chadwick, its spokeswoman.
Meanwhile, at Blue Cross a new retail store at 300 Quaker Lane in Warwick drew 527 visitors in January and 377 in February, said Anne Brunson, managing director of retail strategy for the private insurer. More than 3,300 visitors came by between the opening on Oct. 17 and Dec. 31, 2013, said Jim Gallagher, vice president of marketing.
“We’ve got the sheer volume” to justify the store, Gallagher said. “This is a pilot the organization wanted to put forward.”
Herb Olson, legal counsel for the Office of Health Insurance Commissioner Dr. Kathleen C. Hittner, said that while his office doesn’t track the incidence of walk-in access to health care plans, it is not surprising to see the demand. That’s because buying individual plans remains complicated, even though the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, appears to be making those plans more affordable.
“Intuitively, it does make sense that it would be appealing to consumers to shop for health insurers as they shop for a smartphone or cellphone,” he said.
While the 19,573 walk-ins are low compared with HealthSource RI’s phone calls to the center, which numbered 218,850, and unique website visits of 475,583, it is clear the state agency and the private company are both working to cater to increased demand for in-person visits.
At the Blue Cross outlet in Warwick’s Cowesett Corners, Jean – a Providence woman who declined to give her last name – said the reason she travels there to update her account or get more information instead of going to the company’s offices in the city is that there is more parking and overall convenience. “The parking is here; the people are personable here,” she said. “It’s just a nice, hospitable place. It’s no waiting. You seem to be able to get in and out and do your business and be done.”
In fact, because of the staffing at the Blue Cross offices in Providence and focus on helping customers pay bills, there is a longer wait for informational services there, acknowledged Brunson. But the lack of parking in Providence coupled with an increased demand for one-on-one contact resulted in the company’s opening of the retail store in September.
And instead of closing it in mid-February, the private insurer decided to keep it open.
“As the insurance industry is moving away from employers [and toward individualized health insurance plans], and consumers are having more of a say in what they’re buying, retail seems to be a good fit,” said Brunson. “As insurance has gotten a little bit harder to understand, people have more questions and people [seek answers while] they’re out and about.”
While the interest in physical space for walk-ins is hard to quantify, “there’s a perceived demand,” she added, “an unmet need. The other Blues [in Florida and Pennsylvania] were having success, but a lot of people come to visit us in Providence and we always hear, ‘There’s no parking,’ so this was our attempt to be where customers wanted us to be.”
Chadwick echoed the observation that, despite the ubiquity of the Web, some people, and frequently but not always older people, are more comfortable talking face to face with a specialist rather than sorting things out online or over the phone.
“If you look at some of our younger folks who are digital natives, they’re used to looking online [for information], but if you look to folks who are older or who are not comfortable shopping that way, it can be difficult to understand the differences between plans [online],” she said.
HealthSource RI ranked second amongst state-based exchanges for meeting federal enrollment targets in March, she said.
“We’ve had bumps and glitches on the technology side as we expected we would, but we are pleased with our rollout. We’ve been up and running since Oct. 1. We’re enrolling folks individually and as families, small employers, Medicaid folks, so [we’ve been] trying to help as many people enroll as choose to do so.” In mid-March, Chadwick indicated that walk-in volume had been increasing in part because open enrollment for individual plans was slated to end on March 31, and wouldn’t resume until the fall. She pointed to two factors influencing that increase: the added comfort that may come with direct contact and the relatively new experience of finding a plan on one’s own.
“It’s something people traditionally have not taken a really active role in,” she said, adding, “It seems like it boils down to personal preference. It’s complex, and it’s a big decision so some people feel more comfortable and more confident sitting down and talking to someone face to face.”
The success at the Providence health-exchange contact center has resulted in the addition of a temporary satellite office for HealthSource RI at 250A Centerville Road in Warwick, which is off Exit 10B of Interstate 95, said Chadwick, while negotiations within the Cowesett Plaza for a larger space for the Blue Cross store are ongoing, Brunson said.
In addition, Brunson noted that Blue Cross is considering opening a store in northern Rhode Island. The insurer also had a survey done that showed “off-the-charts” high scores reflecting customer satisfaction with the new store, she said.
“Our goals are to incorporate into a larger location so people don’t think we’re here just to sell insurance,” she said. “Our hope is to partner with them.”
HealthSource RI’s contact centers also have specialists who speak Spanish and Portuguese, as well as other languages, Chadwick said.
“The goal is just to drive enrollment to make sure people know we’re here, that the enrollment period [was] ending and we want to make it as convenient as possible,” she said. “But we’re also a year-round resource for people, so if you have questions about your insurance and you’re enrolled already, you might still come in for information.” •

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