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Mar 6, 2009 9:32 pm US/Eastern
Highmark Opens Retail Store In Ross Township
ROSS TOWNSHIP (KDKA) ―
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Highmark opened a retail health insurance store in Ross Township.
KDKA
A store like no other in Pennsylvania opened in the McKnight Seibert Shopping Center in Ross Township.
The Highmark store allows people to walk in and purchase a health insurance plan.
In a retail environment, Highmark wants to make its plans more accessible and understandable with a person to person approach.
"We think there's going to be a massive move to individuals buying their health care insurance directly," Highmark President and CEO Kenneth Melani said. "And so this is really our way of positioning Highmark in that arena."
The opening prompted some people to protest outside Highmark's downtown headquarters.
"It goes against everything [that] health care is. Health care is not a commodity for profit. In this country we got it all twisted around," Ed Cloonan, who organized the protest, said.
"We need in this country a single-payer system where the people come first and the doctors are in charge – not the insurance companies," Cloonan added.
Melani says yes some to reform, but no to implosion.
"I think the American system has a lot of great things in place that we can build on but I do believe every American has a right to health insurance and some level of health care and I think that's a fundamental thing we have to do that's different than other countries," he said.
In addition to selling health insurance plans and handling clients' claim issues, the center will also host wellness seminars and council clients on ways to improve their health.
Highmark will open a second store in Mechanicsburg in a few weeks.
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