In late August, Highmark opened its ninth Highmark Direct retail store in an Erie, Pennsylvania shopping plaza, highlighting a trend that is "about to accelerate dramatically," the consulting firm Oliver Wyman predicts, as more Americans buy health insurance on the open market or in government-mandated exchanges and employer-provided insurance declines.
The Highmark retail locations sell health, dental and accident insurance and offer claims advice and wellness checks, with a registered nurse on staff. Other insurers have been doing the same, some focusing more on wellness and counseling. United Healthcare has six retail stores, plus temporary "pop-ups" for annual Medicare enrollment, and Florida Blue has 10. Others, such as Blue Shield of California, have opened retail locations within grocery stores.
By 2020, there could be 100 million individual Americans buying $500 billion worth of health insurance in new retail markets on the Web and in "brick and mortar" stores, according to Oliver Wyman. The firm has dubbed it "Retail 2.0," with consumers and regulators expecting transparency, price competition and easily-comparable insurance products.
The consumer experience may actually be quite similar to buying groceries, clothing or cars -- except for insurers, with profits regulated by the new medical loss ratio, there'll be "unprecedented competition, as health plans battle to build volume to make up for lost margin," according to Oliver Wyman.
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Highmark noticed the shift in the early 1990s, said Matt Fidler, Highmark's VP of consumerism and retail marketing. "Consumers were assuming a greater role in managing their health care," Fidler said. "The Highmark Direct stores have well exceeded our expectations."
Most of Highmark's store visits are sales-related; its newest in Erie is the first to have a reigstered nurse.
UnitedHealthcare opened its first retail store in 1994 in New York's City's Chinatown, as part of its Asian Initiatives, offering insurance sales, advice and claims assistance in several Asian languages. Last November, UHC opened a 16,000-square-foot superstore in Flushing, Queens, home to a large and growing Asian-American community.
About 3,200 local residents visit the Flushing store each month, UHC spokeswoman Tracey Lempner said.The company also has stores in Philadelphia and California.
"Americans are increasingly being asked to take a greater role in their personal health and it's important that consumers have access to information that will help them navigate health care decisions and the options available to them," Lempner said.
UHC also has staff helping customers apply for state and federal social service programs, such as the Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage program, Medicare Savings Program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and heat and electricity subsidies, Lempner noted.
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Florida Blue opened its first retail store in Jacksonville in 2007, as a pilot project, said Nick Tant, retail center director for Florida Blue.
"It's moved from a small test to one of the key points for us." Florida Blue currently runs 10 retail stores and another is in the pipeline. This year the company expects 50,000 members and nonmembers to visit Florida Blue centers.
"It really started with talking to individual consumers in Florida," where there's relatively few people with employer-provided insurance, Tant said.
"A lot customers were telling us they wanted to work with us face to face." As more aspects of the ACA take effect, Tant said, "There will be lots of people with questions -- 'help me understand exchanges, help me understand reform.'"
A key component of the centers, Tant noted, is no-cost wellness screenings for members, with registered nurses available to check blood pressure, take glucose screenings and help with comparisons of drug and treatment options.
Tant said the nurses have been beneficial for members and the company, offering the sort of care that saves money in the longrun by spotting problems or preventing unncessary hospital visits.
As insurers adapt to new consumer demands and health reform regulations, retail stores may be a way to remake their public image and a way to help their members maintain their health.