Investor’s Business Daily Article Discusses How Medical Loss Ratio Is Affecting Insurers

OpenConnect CEO Points to Reducing Administrative Costs as One of the Biggest Challenges Insurers Face

Dallas, TX Februray 8, 2012 - Investor’s Business Daily, today published an article written by Dr. Merrill Matthews, a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation, discussing the impact of the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) component of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will have on Insurers and Agents.

MLR will be a continuing challenge to health insurers whether trying to maintain margins in current markets or looking at growth in new, adjacent markets. One of the key impacts of MLR will require health insurers to look beyond the issues of cost allocation and look to how they can improve cost structure and competitive positioning. A key point of the article is improving administrative cost efficiency in the area of claims processing.

In the article OpenConnect CEO Edward M.L. Peters points out, “Reducing administrative costs is one of the biggest regulatory challenges health insurers have faced.  Everyone knows there are significant inefficiencies in the claims payment process, the problem has been finding them and eliminating them in a sustainable way. Fortunately, the best practice leaders are aggressively adopting analytics and automation technologies that are finding and eliminating those inefficiencies.”

As reported in June 2011 by AHIP Center for Policy and Research, some plans have identified MLR compliance costs exceeding $20 million. In theory, loss ratios are affected by many costs and expenses and insurance companies will be investing in solutions like OpenConnect’s Comprehend to help them improve operational efficiencies and reduce administrative costs.

To view the Investor’s Business Daily article in its entirety please visit: http://news.investors.com/Article.aspx?id=600420&ibdbot=1.

About OpenConnect

OpenConnect is the leader in process intelligence and workforce analytics solutions that automatically discover, automate and improve service processes and optimize workforce productivity. Combining unparalleled experience and solution capabilities, OpenConnect enables our clients to more quickly address and adapt to today’s operational and competitive challenges. Learn more about OpenConnect at www.oc.com.