Health Plans Have Stopped Subsidizing Electronic Clearinghouses; Avoid Per-Claim Charges by Using CMA’s Clearinghouse Partner
[Posted 10/13/05]

For More Information NEW BENEFIT FOR CMA MEMBERS: Need Help Submitting HIPAA-Compliant Claims? CMS Ends HIPAA Contingency Plan; Noncompliant Electronic Claims Will Be Rejected Effective Oct. 1 [Posted 09/29/05]

When the HIPAA electronic transactions rule first took effect, many clearinghouses offered their services to physicians free. They were able to do this because health plans subsidized “HIPAA-compliant” clearinghouses to encourage electronic claims submission. Now that most of the health care industry has successfully made the HIPAA transition, those subsidies are being eliminated. Many physicians are finding that their clearinghouses are now charging them a per-claim fee.

Anticipating that trend, CMA partnered with Infinedi, an electronic claims clearinghouse whose pricing model does not depend on health plan subsidies. Infinedi offers a fixed, monthly price for CMA members, regardless of claim volume.

Infinedi not only saves practices money on claims submissions, it also offers online tools that provide real-time access to pending claims, with reports that compare payments made to actual invoices. The system also allows practices to verify patient eligibility, correct errors, and automatically resubmit claims, resulting in a payor acceptance rate of almost 99 percent.

CMA members receive a discount of 8 to 12 percent. You don’t need special software. Claims can be transmitted 24 hours a day to Infinedi’s web portal via secure FTP, or by modem through a toll-free number.

The one-time enrollment fee is $175 for members, $200 for nonmembers. Physicians enrolling will be issued free a MEDePass digital certificate for secure access to their private business account information stored at Infinedi.

Click here for enrollment information.

Contact: Infinedi, 800/688-8087. Be sure to ask for your CMA discount.