Minn. BCBS axes clinic co-pays

EAGAN, Minn. —In another nod to the important role retail clinics play in improving access and affordability to health care, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota announced last month that it will eliminate co-pays related to treatment and services provided by retail clinics—making it the first healthcare plan in the state to do so.

BCBS members in Minnesota made more than 40,000 visits to retail clinics in 2007, a rise of nearly 100 percent over the previous year. According to BCBS, the average cost of a retail clinic visit, $47, was about half the average $97 cost charged by a traditional medical clinic for the same treatment.

Further, BCBS estimates that employers and members saved more than $1.25 million in healthcare costs in 2007 by using retail clinics.