Blue Cross-Blue Shield To Unveil Upstate Retail Store

The public is invited to the grand opening Saturday, June 8, of South Carolina BLUE, BlueCross-BlueShield of South Carolina’s first retail store in the Upstate.

The store is at 1025 Woodruff Road, Suite A105, in the Magnolia Park shopping center.

The 10 a.m.-5 p.m. grand opening will include balloon artists and a jumping inflatable obstacle course for children, giveaway items and prizes for adults, hot dogs for everyone, and greetings from the University of South Carolina’s Cocky, Clemson University’s Tiger, and the Greenville Drive’s Reedy Rip’It.

Adults can get policy information, purchase insurance and sign up for community health and wellness classes to be conducted in the store in June and July. WSSL will broadcast live from the site and also give out pizza.

Classes scheduled at the store so far include “Insurance 101: Learn the Ins and Outs of Health Insurance and How to Use your Plan to its Full Potential,” 10:30–11:30, Saturday, June 2; “Managing Stress,” 6 p.m.–7 p.m., Monday, June 24; and “Healthy Cooking,” 6 p.m.–7 p.m., July 16.

The store is intended to serve consumers looking to buy insurance amid the new rules of health care reform. Store staffers are employed by BlueCross and are licensed to sell insurance. The products they are selling include individual policies and group plans fully insured by BlueCross and by its subsidiary company, BlueChoice® HealthPlan of South Carolina. They also will help current customers who have questions about their health plans.

No appointments are needed. The store is open 9 a.m.–7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Saturdays. Shoppers are welcome to visit the store on any day in the lead-up to the grand opening.

“In this retail setting, we wanted to provide a comfortable, face-to-face setting to help consumers navigate a shopping experience that will be new to a lot of them,” said BlueCross President Jim Deyling.

BlueCross was one of the first health insurance companies in the nation to go retail, opening its first store in 2009 in Mount Pleasant, S.C. The only South Carolina-based health insurance company to operate retail stores in the state, BlueCross plans to open more retail outlets in the state over the next few years.