Retail store offers health care help - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

There's a lot to sort through these days when it comes to health care. What if you could walk into a store and get your questions answered? It's possible with a new health care "retail shop" that opened in Indianapolis.

"It was hard to figure out my health insurance, and it became very expensive quickly," said Nancy Arbuckle.

It's safe to say Arbuckle shares the same sentiment many Americans do about health care.

"It was hard to get someone that had an answer to this," she said.

The small-business owner says she needed to be "rescued"- and that's when she says she turned to Bernard Health: "My premium was rising to $800 a month, and I think I am a healthy person."

Bernard Health opened a retail shop in Nora Plaza last month to answer your health care questions.  Started by Indianapolis natives, the company says this unique concept will save consumers money and hassle.

Licensed, non-commission-based advisors sort through the paperwork so you don't have to:

"What that means for Hoosiers is there is now a place they can go that they pay a flat fee and they can look at all the options, that includes employee based health care for individuals, governmental plans and private plans," said Ryan McCostlin with Bernard Health.

A better way to understand this business concept is to compare it to your taxes. Many Americans pay someone every year to fill out their paperwork. The folks at Bernard Health say it's the exact same idea, but this time it deals with health care.

Nancy paid a flat fee of $200, and after her two meetings, she cut her monthly premium in half:

"It wasn't the company I was covered by, it was the way I had it set up. He gave me a better way to tweak it," said Nancy.

University of Indianapolis Finance Professor Rachel Smith says she thinks the Bernard Health business concept is a good option for confused consumers willing to pay the fees, priced between $200 and $300. The professor thinks the non-commission-based service can be especially helpful to sort through the complexity of Medicare.

"I see the main target market being baby boomers that are deciding between Medicare, Medicaid and even living accommodation options and cost of those," said the professor.

In fact, Bernard Health tells us a third of their business comes from baby boomers needing Medicare help.

The retail store is hosting an open house on Thursday at the Nora Plaza store.

Bernard Health