Plans Looking To DST Health Solutions For Support As Health Insurance Marketplace Takes Shape

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Sept. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- DST Health Solutions, LLC (DSTHS), a leading provider of technology solutions and services to health plans, integrated delivery systems, and health care providers, today announced that it will be providing 17 healthcare organizations with Marketplace Elements®, the company's premier solution for the emerging Health Insurance Marketplace.

Specifically designed to support health plans participating in the Health Insurance Marketplace (also referred to as the health insurance "exchange"), Marketplace Elements includes the establishment of the required federal and state connectivity, robust enrollment and billing functions, automated reconciliation processing, care management technology, and the analytics required to support the new risk models.

According to Steve Sabino, President, DST Health Solutions, Marketplace Elements was developed in response to the need for an integrated approach to providing the vital services necessary to support the evolving individual plan environment.

"DST Health Solutions is committed to helping healthcare organizations achieve success as we enter this critical implementation phase of the Affordable Care Act," says Sabino. "With Marketplace Elements, we provide a software solution that proactively drives improvement, allowing participating plans to achieve high performance in a challenging industry."

Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield is among the leading healthcare organizations to choose Marketplace Elements as their solution for the Health Insurance Marketplace line of business. Company CIO Joseph S. Smith says his firm selected the DSTHS solution for five key reasons.

"While in the midst of major ACA-initiated business model transformation, we chose Marketplace Elements for its easy integration with our core platform, faster speed to market than building something ourselves, and for much lower economies of scale in terms of development cost," says Smith. "In addition, it allowed us to focus on the specific business needs of split billing for Advanced Premium Tax Credits versus premiums and related member level functionalities, and will provide continual updates as federal regulations evolve."

In practice, Marketplace Elements' modular design allows clients to tailor the solution to fit their business needs by either selecting individual components or utilizing the complete offering. Additionally, the solution is complemented by DSTHS' full range of business process outsourcing and consulting services.

"This broad approach helps organizations achieve profitable growth more rapidly by reducing the administrative burden that accompanies this line of business," says Sabino. "In the end, Marketplace Elements enables them to focus solely on their members' health care needs. "

About DST Health Solutions
DST Health Solutions, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DST Systems, Inc., delivers systems and services that help improve efficiency, reduce operational costs, increase speed to market, and facilitate medical cost management and price containment. Clients include commercial health plans, consumer-directed plans, government plans (Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D and Medicaid) and physician practices. DST Health Solutions' enterprise applications and outsourcing services include claims processing, member and provider management, benefit plan management, new product development, care management and medical management, and decision support/analytics. For more information about DST Health Solutions, contact 800.272.4799, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.dsthealthsolutions.com.

About Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Founded in 1948, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is the largest health insurer in Arkansas. Arkansas Blue Cross and its affiliates have more than 2,500 employees. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is comprised of 37 independent, locally-operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans that collectively provide health care coverage for 100 million — nearly one in three — Americans. For more information on Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, visit www.arkansasbluecross.com/.

SOURCE DST Health Solutions, LLC