Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and Payformance Corporation Sign National Agreement.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Agreement Recognizes Payformance as a Preferred Option for Transitioning Healthcare Payers to Electronic Payments and Remittance Advices

Payformance Corporation announced today that it has entered into a national agreement with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), the association for the nation's 41 independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield health insurance companies, which collectively insure more than 91 million Americans. The agreement recognizes Payformance as a National Partner for electronic payment and remittance advice services.

PaySpan Health, the healthcare service from Payformance, transitions the paper-based adjudicated claim settlement process to a full circle electronic solution. The service provides a comprehensive independent approach for electronic funds transfer (EFT) and electronic remittance advice (ERA), giving BCBS companies and their Providers a means to increase the efficiency of claims settlement and payment processes.

"One of the objectives of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is to support and enhance strategic technology initiatives at Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies," said Mike Ozmeral, Managing Director, Business Development at BCBSA. "In doing so, we recognize the strategic value of an electronic settlement process. With PaySpan Health we are confident we are giving BCBS companies a practical path to the benefits possible through electronic payments and remittance advices."

Unique in many ways, PaySpan Health is a hosted service, requiring no installation at Blue sites. The solution allows complete freedom with regard to banking relationships, EDI partners, and print service vendors. Through a unified Provider Registry, Blue Plans can deliver EFTs and ERAs to all Providers registered for the service, both for their local as well as national programs.

"The need for Plans to reduce their administrative overhead and enhance their Provider relationships has never been greater," stated Tom Turi, Senior Vice President of Payformance Health. "With PaySpan Health, BCBS Plans can very quickly realize both of these objectives. We are pleased that BCBSA embraces this opportunity and has chosen Payformance as a National Partner to pursue it."

About Payformance Corporation

Payformance is singularly focused on the delivery of optimal solutions for corporate and healthcare payments and reporting. Serving over 3,500 customers, Payformance has a twenty-year history of providing industry leading electronic payment solutions, print services, and corporate payment software systems. Payformance is headquartered in Jacksonville, FL and can be found on the Web at http://www.payformance.com.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is made up of 41 independent, locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans that collectively provide healthcare coverage for 91 million - nearly one-third of all Americans. For more information on the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and its Plans, visit http://www.bcbs.com.