PwC JOINS FORCES WITH MBPROJECT TO LEAD HSA WORKGROUP

Contact: Evelyn Marquez Sanchez
615-794-2009
info@mbproject.org

Franklin, TN (April 7, 2005)  PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) has joined forces with the Medical Banking Project (MBProject) to lead a HSA Workgroup as part of a new consumer-focused area. The HSA Workgroup will convene a team of industry experts to assess and/or develop best practices for administering deductibles and also to recommend safeguards that protect healthcare providers from excessive write-offs in the new HSA landscape. Dave Harris, PwC’s National Healthcare Revenue Cycle Partner, will lead the effort.

“Consumers will judge HSA and high deductible health plan (HDHP) combinations by how convenient they are to use, including managing deposits, withdrawals, payments and reimbursement of qualified medical expenses,” said Harris. “If managed poorly, these consumers risk additional taxes and penalties and this can slow HSA adoption and possibly tarnish their first impression for using HSAs.”

Building upon HIPAA, MBProject’s HSA Workgroup will create, disseminate, and maintain business rules enabling financial institutions, healthcare providers, payers and their members to effectively communicate and perform healthcare financial transactions in a banking style environment. One objective of the HSA Workgroup is to develop the necessary groundwork that will enable patients to have the ability to one day walk up to an ATM style kiosk at a hospital, swipe their insurance ID with debit card functionality and never have to worry about complex paperwork commonly associated with HDHPs.

“HSAs have the potential to become a catalyst for converging the healthcare revenue cycle between providers and payers, simplifying a redundant paper intensive administrative process,” according to Harris. PwC’s healthcare revenue cycle advisory practice is a major integrator of disparate processes and information systems.

“Cross-industry dialogue related to HSAs is essential and PwC will help us to develop a national effort for this purpose,” said John Casillas, Founder of MBProject and Chair of the Medical Banking Institute. “The effort must involve a strong business and consumer voice and we invite all affected groups to join this effort and will be reaching out over the next few months as efforts get underway.”

Experts predict that consumer directed plans such as Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) will attract 2.7 million members (employees) and capture 16 billion in premiums by the end of 2005. Over the next five years, debit cards tied to HSAs and other types of consumer directed health reimbursement accounts such as Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) will link banking to healthcare in an unprecedented fashion .

“HSAs provide opportunities for banks and other financial service institutions to expand services into a relatively new market," said Peter Savalli, Director in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Retail Finance and Payments Practice. “The discipline and technology used by banks and financial service institutions to process financial transactions can decrease time and costs in today's environment, ultimately improving the customer experience and increasing discipline and controls around the processing of healthcare financial transactions.”

>> Join HSA Workgroup:  Members of MBProject can join the HSA workgroup.  If your organization is not a member, simply click here http://www.mbproject.org/services-portal.php and follow the online instructions or call us at 615.794.2009.

>> "Dr. HSA" News Column:  Read a new column offered by MBProject at http://www.mbproject.org/column-harris.php.  If you would like to contribute content, please email our editorial staff at info@mbproject.org.  Guest editors are welcome!

>> HSAs@Work | A Cross-Industry National Webcast Series:  David Harris, PwC, will host a new roundtable forum offered by MBProject that is scheduled to meet through 2006.  Our first panel will meet during MBProject's Leadership Forum (for members only).  For more information, please call 615.794.2009.

About PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)...

PricewaterhouseCoopers provides industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services for public and private clients. More than 120,000 people in 139 countries connect their thinking, experience and solutions to build public trust and enhance value for clients and their stakeholders. For more information, please go to http://www.pwc.com.

About the Medical Banking Project...

MBProject is an independent policy research and strategic advisory firm established to promote the development of "Charitable Communities Network", an industry model that leverages HIPAA's security, privacy and electronic mandates to deliver substantive cost benefits to care givers. The firm does not provide legal advice and urges medical banking stakeholders to consult with private counsel. For more information, please go to http://www.mbproject.org.

###

This is commercial email. It may contain advertising or solicitation.

© Copyright 2004 The Medical Banking Project, 320 Main Street, Suite 230, Franklin, TN 37064. All rights reserved.