UnitedHealth Ingenix's acquiring AIM Healthcare Services in Tennessee

Health insurers hire AIM Healthcare to collect overpaid medical claims to providers, who in turn also hire AIM to get back any dollars they may have overpaid to insurers. This seems to be a match made in heaven, depending on what type of data base they are using and if it represents true figures and algorithms. Ingenix made1.3 Billion dollars last year and pays a few million out on penalties, gives up the data base that not only United HealthCare used, but rather most major carriers, so it appears they found a twin and the sale is all cash. Maybe they want to use one modeled after what AIM has in place?

United Healthcare agreed to pay the AMA 350 million on a class action lawsuit; however no mention on each individual state, which several have their own cases going against United/Ingenix. The problem here is such a lack of transparency with the insurance business, so who knows that the next algorithms will show, we never get to see the numbers.

Is This a Case for a New Law – Illegal Algorithms? How Do You Sleep at Night Rockefeller asked the CEO of United Health Care

The Ingenix Inquisition – Hearing Requested by Senator Rockefeller

Last I heard, Senator Rockefeller is still waiting to see how many federal employees were ripped off and wanted a report back from 20 major health insurance companies, so it looks like Ingenix is wasting no time to add more cost and business intelligence to the bag of tricks. BD

U.S. Congress has an inadequate understanding Value of Health IT – HIMMS Opening Session

Ingenix, the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary that in the past year faced scrutiny over its databases used by insurers to set reimbursement rates for out-of-network care, said it has acquired a Franklin-based health care information technology company.

Today’s acquisition of AIM Healthcare Services Inc., which helps payers and hospitals to manage claims, expands Ingenix’s business of ensuring accuracy of payments at a time when eliminating unnecessary paperwork is seen as a key part of any reform of the nation’s health care system. Errors in processing claims cost the U.S. health care system more than $150 billion a year, according to one estimate by policy research firm The Lewin Group of Falls Church, Va.

Under the all-cash deal, AIM Healthcare and its affiliates Netwerkes and Ingram & Associates will become part of Ingenix’s payor and government services group. Netwerkers provides electronic connectivity between payers and providers, while Ingram & Associates helps client hospitals to collect on payments from insurers. Overall, the companies employ 2,000 people — half working from offices in Cool Springs and the other half onsite at about 3,000 client hospitals across the country.