South Carolina Blues plan moves toward direct deposit of claim payments

The plan wants to wire funds directly into the bank accounts of doctors who submit 90% of their claims electronically.

By Tyler Chin, AMNews staff. Sept. 9, 2002.

Instead of hearing that the check is in the mail, physicians in South Carolina soon may hear, "It's been wired."

In August, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina launched an electronic funds transfer service under which physicians and hospitals can get their payment wired directly into their bank accounts if they submit 90% of their claims electronically to the insurer, either through the Internet, third parties or other electronic means.

Physicians who qualify and sign up to receive electronic funds transfers will get their money more quickly than anyone else because they won't have to wait for checks to go through the postal service, said David Boucher, assistant vice president for health care services at the South Carolina Blues. "Instead of us cutting a check, we wire the money right to their account the same day that the check would have been cut," he said. "They end up getting their cash three or four days earlier than they would normally."

The South Carolina Medical Assn. praised the development.

"It's a step in the right direction," said association CEO William Mahon. "Anything that speeds up claims processing and cash flow has to be good from the physicians' point of view."

The Blues plan is offering the electronic payment service as an incentive to encourage physicians and others to submit claims electronically, which in turn would lower the plan's administrative costs, Boucher said. It also hopes that the service will give it a competitive edge over other insurers and improve its relationship with physicians, he added. [...]