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ENGLEWOOD, Colo., February 3,.2009 – The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) lauds Humana, one of the nation’s largest health-benefits companies, for its commitment to administrative simplification and its leadership in adopting standardized*, machine-readable patient ID cards for its members. Less than three weeks ago, MGMA launched Project SwipeIT, an industry-wide effort calling on health insurers, vendors and health care providers to initiate processes to support standardized cards by Jan. 1, 2010. Humana is the first insurer to publicly pledge its support.
“We’d like to see the whole payer community emulate Humana,” said William F. Jessee, M.D., FACMPE, president and CEO of MGMA. “In putting a priority on issuing standardized cards, they’ve shown that it’s possible to take a step toward eliminating the $1 billion a year we waste on this outdated system. Humana’s hospital and physician partners should follow its lead and adopt the technology necessary to machine-read Humana patients’ cards.”
Most patient ID cards currently in use have no machine-readable elements. Health care providers typically photocopy the cards for their records, wasting money on data entry that invites human error and leads to denied claims. Many cards are inconsistently designed and feature photos, illustrations and dark backgrounds that make legible photocopying difficult. Machine-readable cards like Humana’s could be linked to providers’ computer systems via a card reader allowing for the automatic population of patient information correctly and cost-effectively with a simple swipe.
MGMA estimates that machine-readable patient ID cards could save physician offices and hospitals as much as $1 billion a year by reducing unnecessary administrative efforts and many denied claims.
Humana has launched a number of administrative simplification initiatives dedicated to creating innovative solutions and cost savings for providers, such as real-time claims adjudication and real-time multi-payer transactions. For example, two years ago, Availity (a joint venture of Humana and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida) launched a collaborative ID card-swipe technology pilot program in conjunction with another major health plan in the state of Florida. Some practices saw more than a 50 percent reduction in manual keystroke errors. This increased efficiency translated into a 50 percent reduction of denied transactions. In addition to financial savings, improvements in the technology pipeline enable relevant exchange of clinical information between physicians and payers. Overall, smoother business transactions and clinical knowledge lead to a better overall experience for the patient and clinician.
“It is exciting to see this initiative come to fruition. We are proud to be a part of such a significant movement,” said Bruce Perkins, senior vice president, Humana Healthcare Delivery Systems and Clinical Processes. “In addition to the cost savings, Project SwipeIT also proves that the industry is ready to continue collaborative opportunities. Our goal is to continue working with MGMA and the industry to eliminate waste, create efficiencies and reduce the hassle-factor for providers.”
*The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) developed an implementation guide to enable automated and interoperable identification using standardized health-insurance ID cards. The guide standardizes present practice and brings uniformity of information, appearance and technology to the more than 100 million cards now issued by health care providers, health plans, government programs and others. For more information and to download the WEDI implementation guide, visit www.wedi.org.
Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is one of the nation’s largest publicly traded health and supplemental benefits companies, with approximately 10.6 million medical members. Humana is a full-service benefits solutions company, offering a wide array of health and supplementary benefit plans for employer groups, government programs and individuals.
Over its 48-year history, Humana has consistently seized opportunities to meet changing customer needs. Today, the company is a leader in consumer engagement, providing guidance that leads to lower costs and a better health plan experience throughout its diversified customer portfolio.
More information regarding Humana is available to investors via the Investor Relations page of the company’s Web site at www.humana.com, including copies of:
MGMA is the premier membership association for professional administrators and leaders of medical group practices. Since 1926, MGMA has delivered networking, professional education and resources, and political advocacy for medical practice management. Today, MGMA’s 22,500 members lead 13,700 organizations nationwide in which some 275,000 physicians provide more than 40 percent of the health care services delivered in the United States. MGMA’s mission is to continually improve the performance of medical group practice professionals and the organizations they represent. MGMA promotes the group practice model as the optimal framework for health care delivery, assisting group practices in providing efficient, safe, patient-focused and affordable care. MGMA is headquartered in Englewood, Colo., and maintains a government affairs office in Washington, D.C.