ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 27, 1990                   TAG: 9004270216
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short


BLUE CROSS SALES RISING

Contract sales by the Government and Individual Business Center of Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Roanoke have reached a record 253,000 for the first quarter.

Enrollment in the health insurance offered by the Roanoke center is running 18,000 contracts ahead of a year ago and employment is up to 590 after 30 telemarketing jobs were added in September, said John Berry, chief operating officer. The work force is more than 10 percent bigger than at the merger of the Virginia and Southwestern Virginia plans in 1986, he said.

The Roanoke center has sold about 26 percent of the 964,000 contracts of Blue Cross of Virginia in the first quarter, according to Berry's figures. Roanoke sales include 128,000 Medicare Supplemental, 30,000 individual, 10,000 students and 85,000 federal employee program contracts.

A new product, "Virginia Select," has benefits for well-baby care and a $1,000 annual ceiling on a subscriber's out-of-pocket costs, Berry said. Sales of this product are expected to reach 10,000 contracts by the end of the year.

Berry said the company, which has an annual payroll of $16.6 million, projects steady growth in sales for the next several years as the result of specialization for individuals. - Staff report



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