Aetna U.S. Healthcare Announces E-PayTM Program to Enhance Service to Physicians and Members.BLUE BELL, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 15, 1998-- --Major Step Toward Paperless Claims Processing in Health Care-- Aetna U.S. Healthcare U.S. Healthcare is a now-defunct healthcare company. The logo had an apple. The merger with Aetna In 1996, the company merged with Aetna, calling it Aetna U.S. Healthcare. The U.S. Healthcare apple logo was next to the Aetna name, and U.S. Healthcare under it. U.S. today announced E-Pay, a groundbreaking electronic claims and referral submission program that will pay physicians within 15 business days when they submit HMO HMO health maintenance organization. HMO n. A corporation that is financed by insurance premiums and has member physicians and professional staff who provide curative and preventive medicine within certain financial, referrals and claims electronically. E-Pay is expected to significantly enhance service levels to physicians and members, while allowing Aetna U.S. Healthcare to take a leadership position in rapid payments to physicians. "Aetna U.S. Healthcare has developed the E-Pay program as part of our company-wide commitment to service excellence," said Michael J. Cardillo, president of Aetna U.S. Healthcare. "We believe that E-Pay will improve HMO claim turnaround time (1) In batch processing, the time it takes to receive finished reports after submission of documents or files for processing. In an online environment, turnaround time is the same as response time. leading to more predictable cash flows for physician practices and therefore higher satisfaction levels among our participating physicians. And as we convert the majority of claims to electronic processing, our overall service quality will greatly improve for employers and members. This is an important step in Aetna U.S. Healthcare's on-going efforts to continually improve the satisfaction levels of physicians, employers and members." This program will be available initially to physicians in Northern New Jersey and New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , prior to becoming available in additional parts of the country. Physicians in North Jersey can begin signing up immediately, and physicians in downstate New York Downstate New York is a term for the southeasternmost portion of New York State, United States, in contrast to Upstate New York. It should be noted that the term "Downstate New York" has significantly less currency than its counterpart term "Upstate New York", and the Downstate (including Manhattan) can begin signing up July 15. The program is expected to be operational in these markets as early as August, and is expected to be rolled out nationally in 1999. "As a physician, I'm glad to see an insurance company taking the lead on achieving quick and reliable payment turnaround," said Dr. Bernard Schayes, a primary care physician in Manhattan. "There is no question that technology is the answer to improve the high quality of care patients deserve. I'm pleased that Aetna U.S. Healthcare has come up with E-Pay, which will significantly improve efficiencies in office practices." E-Pay will allow Aetna U.S. Healthcare to achieve rapid turnaround time for HMO, QPOS QPOS Quiznos Point Of Sales System and Medicare claims payment when participating physicians submit referrals and claims electronically. The system will pair electronic claims with corresponding referrals and route them into the payment process. In addition, Aetna U.S. Healthcare expects E-Pay to improve service levels and increase cost- effective connectivity with participating physicians across the country. Nationally, only 38 percent of physicians are submitting claims electronically in the health benefits industry, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Faulkner and Gray's 1998 Health Data Directory. "With E-Pay, the promise of e-business will pay off. We've seen the tremendous benefits derived by the banking industry in cost reductions on electronic transactions on an ATM versus going to a teller. Those same efficiencies are sorely sore·ly adv. 1. Painfully; grievously. 2. Extremely; greatly: Their skills were sorely needed. needed in healthcare. Administrative costs administrative costs, n.pl the overhead expenses incurred in the operation of a dental benefits program, excluding costs of dental services provided. in healthcare exceed $200 billion each year. But the nicest part of e-business in this industry is that it will ultimately help improve the practice and delivery of healthcare to the benefit of doctors and their patients," said IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) Global Healthcare's Neil E. de Crescenzo, director, Global Marketing and Business Development. "E-Pay represents a major step forward in paperless HMO claims processing and true electronic commerce in healthcare. It is representative of the technological advancements that are possible because Aetna U.S. Healthcare HMO members are on a single systems platform," said R. Max Gould, head of Aetna U.S. Healthcare's Customer Service and Applications Systems Development. "In addition, with real-time claim submission, we will benefit from improved information flow and greater accuracy of claims data. We will see an overall improvement in efficiency that will benefit all our participating physicians and members." "Electronic transfer of claims ensures that our employees will receive fast and accurate service from Aetna U.S. Healthcare and its participating physicians," said Lee Saviola, AT&T director of healthcare benefits. "The system also eliminates steps involved when referrals are required, making it simpler for our employees to receive appropriate medical care." Participating physicians will have several options for electronic connectivity, including voice response units (VRUs) and swipe card swipe card n. A plastic card with a magnetic strip containing encoded data that is read by passing the card through a usually slotted electronic device, used especially to make electronic transactions and to provide access to restricted or secure areas. boxes for electronic submission of referrals, referral inquiries and eligibility checks, and desktop systems with software for claims submission, as well as training on each option. The necessary software will be free to Aetna U.S. Healthcare participating physicians. Aetna U.S. Healthcare, the health benefits unit of Aetna Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :AET AET Aetna, Inc. AET After Extra Time AET Actual Evapotranspiration AET Alliance for Environmental Technology AET Alpha-Ethyltryptamine AET Applied Extrusion Technologies, Inc. ), is one of the nation's leading health and related benefits organizations with a total health enrollment of nearly 14 million members. CONTACT: Aetna U.S. Healthcare Media Contact: Jill Griffiths, 215-775-6890 griffij2@ushc.com OR Investor Contact: Robyn Walsh, 860-273-6184 |
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