Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona going brick and mortar with proposed network of medical clinics

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona is set to up its game significantly in a shift that moves the company beyond being a health insurance provider to delivering managed care directly to its members.

With little fanfare, BCBSAZ opened its first brick-and-mortar medical clinic early this year in Peoria, open to 1,800 of the health insurer’s employees and their dependents who have opted in for the company’s new managed care program — while a second clinic opened in October to serve Avondale and far west Phoenix.

Each clinic is staffed with doctors, nurse practitioners, lab technicians and administrative support staff, led by a clinic manager. The health insurance giant has ambitious plans to open multiple care center locations in the Valley next year, ultimately stretching down into Tucson by 2025.

The clinics, which the company has dubbed “advance primary care centers,” are operated by a new subsidiary, called Prosano Health Solutions Inc. Prosano is headed by President Beth Ginzinger, who is also chief transformation officer at BCBSAZ.

This story is posted in partnership with Phoenix Business Journal. Click to read the full story.