U.S. Bank Launches Tool to Automate and Reduce Cost of Settling Healthcare Claims

Payment Master™ Helps Payers Reduce Administrative Costs to Comply with New Government Regulations

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--U.S. Bank Healthcare Payment Solutions has launched Payment Master^TM, a full-service healthcare claims settlement system for healthcare payers and providers designed to lower administrative costs and improve the efficiency of the overall healthcare payment system. U.S. Bank is marketing Payment Master to commercial insurers, government payers such as state Medicaid programs, and third-party administrators (TPAs).

“Taking cost out of the healthcare claims settlement process will become even more important as the industry works through the new regulatory landscape and stakeholders look for means of creating more efficient administrative practices”

The Affordable Care Act requires payers in the United States to reduce their percentage of administrative and marketing costs, starting Jan. 1, 2011, to ensure that 80 to 85 percent of all premium dollars collected are used for healthcare service and quality improvement. Transforming their predominantly manual, paper-based claims settlement process is one way to reduce costs, which is one of the reasons why U.S. Bank has created a comprehensive, automated system for payers and providers.

Payment Master conveniently converts all claims remittances to HIPAA-compliant 835 files; enables the payer to establish payment rules, delivers electronic remittance advice and electronic fund transfer (ERA/EFT) to each provider enrolled in the service; and enables providers to view and download claims payment and remittance data to support payment reconciliation and research.

Payment Master utilizes the expertise U.S. Bank has in processing millions of electronic transactions each day and connects back to its experience working in the healthcare industry. U.S. Bank has been facilitating the payments process for payers, providers and consumers for more than five years. With Payment Master, U.S. Bank is detangling the healthcare payment model and delivering a tool that enables payers and providers to move the payment process online.

“Payers have recognized the benefits of electronic claims settlement solutions from the beginning, which has led some of the larger health plans to start developing their own proprietary offerings,” said Ralph Bernstein, senior vice president of U.S. Bank Healthcare Payment Solutions. “The difficulty for payers developing their own payment products is their unfamiliarity with the banking system and the added complexity it places on their providers who lack the resources to manage multiple payer processes. By choosing an outsource partner like U.S. Bank, with its history in the banking industry, and that offers a single, standard, flexible payment portal, payers are positioned better to transition their entire network of providers – small to large – to an electronic claims settlement solution.”

While approximately $2.9 trillion in healthcare payments flow through the system annually, only a small percentage are paid electronically, unnecessarily inflating the cost of care. With the introduction of its Payment Master solution, U.S. Bank rounds out its product portfolio designed to reduce costly manual processes and make the healthcare revenue cycle more efficient for all parties in the healthcare continuum – payers, providers, consumers and employers.

“Taking cost out of the healthcare claims settlement process will become even more important as the industry works through the new regulatory landscape and stakeholders look for means of creating more efficient administrative practices,” said Patricia Hewitt, director of debit advisory services at Mercator Advisory Group. “Managing any remittance process by paper is time intensive and costly for both the payer and service provider. With an estimated 31 million more Americans entering the healthcare system by 2014, solutions like Payment Master can help payers prepare for the influx in claims, while lowering their administrative costs, and delivering streamlined solutions to the provider network.”

To learn more about Payment Master, please go to: http://www.healthcare.usbank.com/products-and-solutions/payer-solutions

About U.S. Bank Healthcare Payment Solutions

Healthcare Payment Solutions helps patients pay and providers collect. An outgrowth of U.S. Bank's long-standing commitment to the healthcare community, Healthcare Payment Solutions delivers innovations that simplify the receipt and processing of payments, provides new and better ways for patients to meet their financial obligations, and supports the relationship among the participants in the healthcare continuum. For more information about Healthcare Payment Solutions, please visit www.healthcare.usbank.com.

About U.S. Bancorp

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB), with $291 billion in assets as of Sept. 30, 2010, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States. The company operates 3,013 banking offices in 24 states and 5,323 ATMs and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions. Visit U.S. Bancorp on the web at www.usbank.com.