Doctors' group to launch own health plan for staff

Palmetto Primary Care Physicians will launch a new in-house health insurance plan next month for its employees because BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina's rates have become too expensive, the group's CEO said Tuesday. The in-house plan will reduce health insurance costs for the practice's 600 employees by as much as 85 percent per pay period, said spokeswoman Vivian Barajas. "The savings on my end is over 50 percent," she said. "It's kind of like getting a mini-raise for us."