Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., a Xerox Company, has signed a ten-year, $1.6 billion contract to manage California's Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS). Technological advancements and cost savings over the life of the contract will allow more state resources to be focused on health coverage for Californians. ACS will assume operations of the current MMIS and implement enhancements to improve operational efficiency and allow for greater control across Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program. The program will then transition to the ACS Health Enterprise, a system giving the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) additional flexibility to better serve and support providers and beneficiaries, to precisely and quickly pay claims, and to help prevent fraud and abuse within the program.
eHealth, Inc., the parent company of eHealthInsurance.com and eHealthMedicare.com, has acquired privately held PlanPrescriber, Inc., for approximately $28.7 million in cash. Based in Maynard, Mass., and formerly known as Experion Systems, Inc., Launched in 2000 by Glen Urban, a professor and former dean of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management, PlanPrescriber provides a platform from which Medicare-eligible individuals can compare prescription drug and Medicare Advantage plans. The company will become a wholly owned subsidiary of eHealth – which is authorized by more than 180 health insurance companies in the United States and is licensed to sell health insurance in every state and the District of Columbia. CEO Ross Blair will remain at its helm.
Intelimedix, a Lakeland, Fla.-based business intelligence company focused on multi-relational data mining and advanced analytics, has launched Tru:Beacon, a technology-based solution that precisely identifies opportunities to save medical costs without lowering quality of care. It leverages proprietary deterministic algorithms to uncover inappropriate payments, known fraud schemes and treatment variations, as well as other cost-increasing occurrences. Its predictive modeling capability employs profiling and pattern recognition to detect such problems as provider fraud, member misuse and identity theft.
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee has partnered with Health Dialog, a Boston-based provider of healthcare analytics and decision support, to deliver 24/7 health coaching services to 42,000 Medicare Advantage members in the Volunteer State. Health Dialog's health coaches are registered nurses who will help seniors over the phone with a wide variety of healthcare issues, including understanding symptoms, assessing urgent care needs, preparing for physician visits and learning about self care.
