It is also of interest that ComBank has employed a new director...

It is also of interest that ComBank has employed a new director who last worked for the PNC Bank the source of the article below. I wonder if he will oversee Mediclear?

Hospital and Insurance Executives See Significant Opportunity to Reduce Health Care Costs Through More Efficient Payment Process

-- Hospitals Would Use Savings From Automation to Benefit Patient Care --

PITTSBURGH, March 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Hospital and insurance
executives agree that an automated medical claims and payment process could
reduce the costs of health care in the United States and benefit patients,
according to the e-Health Study released today by The PNC Financial Services
Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC), one of the nation's leading providers of electronic
financial solutions to the health care industry. The study was based on
telephone interviews conducted with 150 executives from U.S. hospitals, health
systems and insurance organizations from January to February 2006.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060322/CLW003 )
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000307/PHTU015 )
According to the survey results, 90 percent of hospital executives and 86
percent of insurance executives said that making the claims remittance process
more efficient industry-wide would help slow the rising cost of health care.
Nine out of 10 hospital executives indicate that savings resulting from
automation would be used to improve patient care. Executives interviewed also
said that federal standards for payment and information also could help in
reducing health care costs.
"Health care executives who have adopted automated processes reported
significantly higher levels of patient satisfaction resulting from improved
coordination of benefits between the hospitals and the insurance carriers,"
said Paula Fryland, manager of PNC's national health care group. "While the
majority of respondents said their current process is highly efficient, the
study found there are many opportunities for hospitals and insurance companies
to improve these processes."

Industry cost savings/improved patient care
Other highlights of the PNC e-Health Study include:
- Half of hospital executives and four out of 10 insurance executives
said their organizations could save at least $1 million and as much as
$10 million a year if their billing and payment processes were more
efficient.
- Seventy-five percent of hospital executives would pass savings on
directly to patients and two-thirds thought they would use savings to
provide care to the uninsured.

Billing and payment problems cited
Study results also include:
- 91 percent of hospital executives surveyed say they must resubmit
claims one or more times before they are paid. One out of five said
they must resubmit claims over six times, and 5 percent of all hospital
claims are never paid.
- Insurance executives estimate they need to go back to the health care
providers an average of six times for information necessary to pay a
claim.
- Patient ineligibility is most often stated by both hospital
(84 percent) and insurance executives (80 percent) as the reason for
delay and denial of claims.

"While there have been numerous anecdotes about the barriers that
currently hinder the exchange of information and payments between hospitals
and insurance companies, this is the first industry-wide study of its kind
that sought to identify the gaps and to begin to identify solutions," said
Fryland.

Potential patient benefits
The PNC e-Health Study showed that hospitals would reap the greatest
financial benefit from adopting Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) standards. Among those hospital executives who
reported already having EDI/EFT systems in place:
- 84 percent agreed or strongly agreed that their cash flow improved.
- 80 percent experienced significant cost savings.
- Roughly six out of 10 reported reductions in their organization's bad
debts.

Among insurance executives who said they already had EDI/EFT systems in
place:
- Nine out of 10 cited a decrease in errors on balances owed.
- Nine in 10 noted fewer billing "hassles" related to coding and lost
claims.

Industry-wide Barriers
When asked why they have not automated the claims remittance process,
hospital executives point to requirement inconsistencies from multiple
insurance companies, other demands for resources and electronic claims forms
that provide insufficient data compared to paper-based forms. When asked the
same question, insurance executives identify infrastructure cost, lack of
financial incentives and difficulty quantifying a return on the investment as
their greatest barriers to adoption.

Potential Solutions
When asked about how to bridge the gap between hospitals and insurance
companies regarding payment processes, only half of insurance company
executives surveyed were aware that some financial institutions provide
integrated payment remittance services for health care claims.
"The financial services industry can play an important role in bringing
the health care industry into the 21st century, and we only now are beginning
to see a convergence of health care remittance processing and financial
services into a sector known as Medical Banking," said Fryland. "As health
care becomes more consumer-focused and transparent, it will accelerate the
urgent need for process improvements through EDI and EFT."
The PNC e-Health Study was conducted by the independent research firm,
Chadwick Martin Bailey, based in Boston, Massachusetts. A PNC e-Health Study
media kit containing background information, survey highlights, topline
findings, graphics and audio expert commentary is available through PNC's
website at http://www.pnc.com/pncnews/.
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. is one of the nation's largest
diversified financial services organizations providing consumer and business
banking; specialized services for corporations and government entities,
including corporate banking, real estate finance and asset-based lending;
wealth management; asset management and global fund services.

This report has been prepared for general informational purposes only and
is not intended as specific advice or recommendations. Information has been
gathered from third-party sources and has not been independently verified or
accepted by The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. The PNC Financial Services
Group, Inc. makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or
completeness of the information, assumptions, analyses or conclusions
presented in the report. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. cannot be held
responsible for any errors or misrepresentations contained in the report or in
the information gathered from third-party sources. Any reliance upon the
information provided in the report is solely and exclusively at your own risk.

SOURCE The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.