Report: BCBS of Florida gets personal

TAMPA, Fla. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida opened here this month a walk-in retail location across from WestShore Plaza shopping mall that could serve as a prototype for future BCBS locations, according to a local news report.

The 5,000-sq.-ft. BCBS location is set up as a customer-service center where consultants are on hand to answer questions and nurses are available to offer basic physical exams, flu shots and basic cholesterol tests, according to the report. The location could eventually evolve into a small clinic.

The insurance giant also has Florida Blue retail locations in Jacksonville and Pembroke Pines, with other locations slated to open this year in Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami and a second in Jacksonville.

According to the report, the Tampa location could serve as a template for BCBS as BCBS divisions across the country have come to see the prototype and are looking to open their own locations.

Humana has made a similar move with its four retail locations in Florida that have opened within the past two years.