Breakthrough Workers' Compensation Bill Submission Process Announced At AASCIF 2002; New Workflow Revolutionizes Workers' Compensation Bill and Document Management.

Business/Technology Editors & Health/Medical Writers

SOUTHINGTON, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 2, 2002

Health Management Online, Inc., (HMonline) today announced a breakthrough solution to speed and simplify the submission of workers' compensation bills. Working closely with Maine Employers' Mutual Insurance Company (MEMIC) of Portland, Maine, this new system has been managing the delivery of bills for several months to selected providers of health care.

For the first time - anywhere in the world - electronic bills from providers are being scrubbed, cross-indexed automatically with patient care notes and delivered to the insurance carriers' desktop via the Internet. This new process takes mere minutes and delivers predictable quality information, replacing the current submission process that is characterized as labor-intensive and paperbound.

HMonline's President, Bill Chesley said, "MEMIC is recognized as an innovator that wants to remain in the forefront of insurance information technology. MEMIC wanted to streamline their process flow, deliver better service to the provider community, standardize quality and control costs. This does all these things and more. It directly benefits everyone involved in the process and that is exactly what a good system should do."

MEMIC is focused on expanding goodwill with their provider community, injured workers and employers who carry workers' compensation insurance. Simplifying the process of bill submission and expediting reimbursement for providers, as well as any necessary indemnity payments to injured workers, are essential components of this goodwill.

Simplicity and speed are of the essence to achieving this goal. Yet, cost containment is a critical element for success in our current commercial environment. MEMIC wanted to reduce costs all-around, increase service and response time, while at the same time ensuring that adoption was not impeded by the need to buy equipment or software. Usually, all these goals are mutually exclusive, so the solution is delivered as an ASP (Application Software Provider) outsourced service. No one needs to buy any new equipment or software. Instead, current technologies already in place, such as current computers and fax machines, are leveraged. The Internet is harnessed as the low-cost communication backbone with online inquiry functions available 24 hours of every day.

MEMIC's John Marr, Vice President of Claims, said, "Internally, we are seeing the benefits already. The increased efficiencies are cutting down workloads, improving workflow and helping us be responsive. This is the right strategy at the right time because it enables us to control workers' compensation premiums while delivering the high quality service that employers and injured workers expect."

In announcing this, Bill Chesley, HMonline's President and CEO said, "This is a special event. Everyone is telling me that they just can't believe how good this really is. We have succeeded in transforming a costly paper and labor-intensive process into an automated service that is easy to use and saves money for provider and insurance carrier alike."

Bill Chesley added, "The spirit of workers' compensation is to ensure that injured workers get medical care and compensation for time lost resulting from work related injuries. By eliminating the wasted time in getting the information in front of the insurance adjuster, the injured worker will get faster response to medical care and faster lost time (indemnity) payments. Moreover, more timely clinical information on rehabilitation status assists in timely response to medical care issues and the early return to work for injured workers. Everyone wins with this new capability but the icing on the cake is that no one has to buy new equipment - they probably already have all the equipment and software they need."

Health Management Online (HMonline(R)) is an ASP provider of specialty productivity services to the Property & Casualty Insurance industry and is focused on workers' compensation. Based in Southington, Connecticut it is located in the heart of the insurance industry. HMonline is backed by private investors with Next Generation Ventures the lead investor.