Claims Processing

New organization would insure 1.8 million

Battle continues to wage in 26 lawsuits nationwide

The California-based Integrated Healthcare Association has been awarded a three-year, $2.9 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

BancTec is partnering with MediStreams to introduce Healthcare Remittance Automation, an outsourced service available to providers, aggregators and financial institutions of all sizes.

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association says Florida could reduce its Medicaid prescription drug spending by $462 million.

Microsoft will offer new turnkey technology to help states roll out their statewide health insurance exchanges by 2014. This will include exchanges, enrollment and eligibility technology, health-enabled business intelligence/analytics and case coordination.

Spending on psychiatric drugs grew 5.6 percent from 2004 to 2005, down from the 27.3 percent growth from 1999 to 2000, according to a study in the February issue of Health Affairs.

The SCIOinspire Corp., a provider of analytics-driven business process solutions for health plans and hospitals, has acquired National Audit, a healthcare claims audit and payment integrity services provider to large commercial and Medicare and Medicaid payers and pharmacy benefit managers.

Blue Shield of California will comply with a request by California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones to delay planned rate hikes for nearly 200,000 individual policy holders for 60 days to allow the commissioner's office time to examine them.

A new study by the American Medical Association shows that many health insurance markets across the country lack significant competition and are instead dominated by one or two insurance companies.