Agreement begins third decade of companies' relationship
PLANO, Texas and PHOENIX, March 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- EDS and
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ) today announced the two
companies have renewed their 20-year relationship. The five-year agreement
for the MetaVance(R) Administration and Finance System will allow BCBSAZ to
continue to meet industry mandate terms and improve claims processing
accuracy and speed, ultimately lowering costs and improving customer
satisfaction for its providers and members. Financial terms of the
agreement are not being disclosed.
Since signing the original agreement in 1987, the companies have worked
together to consolidate BCBSAZ's multiple claims processing platforms onto
MetaVance and integrate processes for HIPAA compliance, among other
milestones. Today, MetaVance processes an average of 11 million claims per
year for BCBSAZ.
"Reaching the highest customer satisfaction levels while reducing
operating costs is one of our top operational and strategic priorities at
BCBSAZ. Continuing to use MetaVance is a key component to delivering on
this priority," said Elizabeth Messina, senior vice president and CIO for
BCBSAZ. "We have and continue to look to EDS for their IT and industry
expertise."
With this agreement, EDS will continue to deliver existing services,
which include managing and enhancing MetaVance and hosting the software
application at the EDS data center in Sacramento, California. As one of the
first EDS clients to adopt MetaVance, the BCBSAZ team has suggested
numerous architectural improvements in the claims processing software in
use today.
EDS notes that MetaVance is a scalable software product used to
automate core administrative processes such as enrollment, member
eligibility and claims processing for healthcare payers with multiple
companies, lines of business and products such as indemnity, preferred
provider organizations and health maintenance organizations. MetaVance is
based on a flexible, service-oriented architecture and is designed for
payers looking to automate processes such as enrollment, call tracking and
workflow. The member-centric model supports tailored benefits for both the
member and their dependents and supports consumer-directed health plans.
"The EDS team takes great pride in continuing this successful
relationship with such a well-established health insurance company," said
Sean Kenny, EDS Global Healthcare Industry vice president. "We will remain
focused on helping BCBSAZ further optimize operations and improve service
to its providers and members in a secure environment."
EDS has served the healthcare industry for more than 40 years. Today,
EDS touches more than 200 million lives daily and performs 2.4 billion
healthcare transactions each year, including 1 billion in healthcare claims
annually. EDS is the nation's largest provider of Medicaid and Medicare
process management services, administering $95 billion in benefits a year
and serves as fiscal agent or principal IT provider for Medicaid in 22
states. With more than 7,000 professionals dedicated to supporting
healthcare clients worldwide, EDS' global healthcare experience spans
payer, provider, government and life science communities.
About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, an independent licensee of the Blue
Cross and Blue Shield Association, is the largest Arizona-based health
insurance company. The not-for-profit company was founded in 1939 and
provides health insurance products, services or networks to more than 1.1
million individuals. With offices in Phoenix, Flagstaff, Tempe and Tucson,
the company employs more than 1,500 Arizonans. For information about Blue
Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and its community programs such as
WalkingWorks, please visit http://www.azblue.com.
About EDS
EDS is a leading global technology services company delivering business
solutions to its clients. EDS founded the information technology
outsourcing industry more than 45 years ago. Today, EDS delivers a broad
portfolio of information technology and business process outsourcing
services to clients in the manufacturing, financial services, healthcare,
communications, energy, transportation, and consumer and retail industries
and to governments around the world. Learn more at eds.com.
The statements in this news release that are not historical statements,
including statements regarding the amount of new contract values, are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities
laws. These statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties,
many of which are beyond EDS' control, which could cause actual results to
differ materially from such statements. For information concerning these
risks and uncertainties, see EDS' most recent Form 10-K. EDS disclaims any
intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT:
Julie Basa Regena Frieden
EDS Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona
972 605 1862 602 864 4046
julie.basa@eds.com rfrieden@phx1.bcbsaz.com
SOURCE Electronic Data Systems Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.eds.com
http://www.azblue.com
CONTACT:
Julie Basa of Electronic Data Systems,
+1-972-605-1862, julie.basa@eds.com; or Regena Frieden of Blue
Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, +1-602-864-4046,
rfrieden@phx1.bcbsaz.com
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