Participation in CAQH EFT and ERA Enrollment Tool Accelerates, Streamlining Process for Healthcare Providers to Get Started with Electronic Payments

WASHINGTON, June 17, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- CAQH^® today announced participation by several additional healthcare payers in its electronic funds transfer (EFT) and electronic remittance advice (ERA) enrollment tool. The tool lifts a longstanding administrative barrier to broad use of electronic payments in healthcare by establishing a single online enrollment hub that eliminates the need for providers to enroll in EFT and ERA separately with each payer.

BlueCross^® BlueShield^® of Tennessee, CDPHP, CareCentrix, MAPFRE, Midwest Health Plan, and WellPoint's affiliated Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensed health plans – are using the CAQH EFT and ERA enrollment tool to streamline how providers sign up for electronic payments. In addition, FirstCommunity Health Plan, Health Plan of San Mateo, Humana Inc., and Kaiser Permanente have committed to offer the CAQH tool to providers in the coming months. Launched in 2013 with EFT participation by Aetna and Cigna, the CAQH EFT and ERA enrollment tool is already reducing redundant payment work for nearly 30,000 providers.

The inclusion of additional participating organizations greatly expands the number of providers that have an opportunity to streamline EFT and ERA enrollment with multiple payers. Similarly, participating organizations realize greater efficiencies as more providers use the CAQH tool. In its 2013 Index report, the CAQH U.S. Healthcare Efficiency Index found that more than 40 percent of claim payments today are made by paper check. Providers could save in excess of $700 million by transitioning from manual to electronic processes for claim payment and remittance advice transactions.

"The CAQH EFT and ERA enrollment tool makes it easier for providers to enroll in electronic payments and has the potential to accelerate industry adoption of EFT and ERA," says Gloria McCarthy, EVP-Chief Administrative Officer of WellPoint. "Electronic payments are more secure, and they drive cost out of the healthcare system by eliminating redundant paperwork and reducing the time spent to print, mail, and receive checks."

Providers use the tool to enter EFT and ERA enrollment information and indicate which participating organizations should receive their information from CAQH. Reliable and secure data transfers from CAQH to participating organization systems occur through an automated file integration feature. Providers can go into the tool at any time to make changes and easily distribute those changes to the selected payers. There is no charge to providers to use the tool. Participating payers pay a low fee to support operation of the EFT and ERA enrollment tool.

The EFT and ERA enrollment tool is part of a growing portfolio of CAQH solutions and reflects an ongoing commitment to accelerate administrative efficiency and drive cost out of the healthcare system.

About CAQH
CAQH is a nonprofit alliance of health plans and trade associations that serves as a catalyst for industry collaboration on initiatives that simplify healthcare administration for health plans and providers, resulting in a better care experience for patients and caregivers. CAQH initiatives include the Universal Provider Datasource (UPD), the industry standard for self-reported provider data; an EFT and ERA enrollment tool that simplifies sign-ups for electronic payments and electronic remittance advice; COB Smart, a solution improving coordination of benefits processes; and the CAQH Committee on Operating Rules for Information Exchange (CORE), a multi-stakeholder-governed collaboration that is developing and driving the adoption of operating rules to streamline electronic data exchange. Visit www.caqh.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter: @caqh.

SOURCE CAQH