With new HQ opening in Harlem, insurance company MetroPlus Health ready to expand offerings to community
NEW YORK -- Insurance company MetroPlus Health cut the ribbon on its new Harlem headquarters on Monday.
CBS2's Jessi Mitchell got a first look at how the provider is expanding its offerings to the community.
The health plan "for New Yorkers, by New Yorkers" wants you to look at comprehensive coverage in a new light.
Dr. Glendon Henry has spent decades healing Harlem residents.
"We started here in 1985 at Metropolitan Hospital. We've been in Harlem forever. This will improve our footprint," Henry said.
Beyond insurance, the new office will offer resources on preventive health care and nutrition, as well as help with immigration, legal and housing challenges.
"If you can't move or don't have someplace to live, health care is not what you first thought," Henry said.
For years, the MetroPlus Health team set up a table inside a former tax office while roaming the neighborhood with its mobile unit to serve clients. But during the pandemic, neighbors needed them more than ever.
"And you haven't seen the demand subside?" Mitchell asked.
"Not at all. Actually, we've grown about 35 percent in just people in this community alone," Henry said.
Harlem native John Wendell said the office will be a welcome new tool to connect to his network, in addition to an updated version of the bus he uses to work with clients.
"There's a very large, bright yellow sign outside. It really grabs people's attention. The look is totally different. The air is fresher and it's just it contributes to newness in Harlem," Wendell said.
That bright yellow sign also beckons to lawmakers working across the street at Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building.
"It's always important to be able to be close to the people who make decisions. They will get to know us. They will see what we're doing. They'll know what we need. They'll know what the community needs, and they can be the bridge between us and them to get things done," Henry said.
The office is offering not just coverage, but a space for solutions.
You can find the new MetroPlus Health office on Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard at 125th Street.