Equifax Signs Agreement With Medicheck Services Inc

Business Wire, Dec 30, 1998

ATLANTA--(BW HealthWire)--Dec. 30, 1998--Equifax (NYSE:EFX) and Medicheck Services Inc. have agreed that Equifax will deliver patient identification verification and financial information services through Medicheck Services' point-of-service insurance verification systems.

Hospitals subscribing to the services will automatically confirm patient identification and receive financial information during the admissions process. This innovative approach allows providers to understand and accommodate patient needs at the beginning of the relationship, which results in a more effective, patient-friendly account management process.

Equifax has been serving the health-care industry with credit and collections services for 25 years. Electronic delivery of identification verification and financial services is the latest advancement in providing information services at the point of patient registration or admission.

Medicheck Services specializes in electronic data interchange (EDI) solutions in the health-care industry. One such product is the SPOTCHECK system, a multipayer, multiplatform, multifunction system that provides real-time, online access to both the health-care payer and provider markets.

This system includes insurance functions such as eligibility and co-pay verifications, prior authorizations and referrals as well as credit and debit (ATM) card processing. All this, combined with Medicheck's cash management software tools, check guarantee service and integration capability, provides a powerful and sophisticated product mix.

Health-care providers will be able to access the Equifax database automatically through Medicheck's point-of-service devices. In turn, Equifax will return key identifying information and action messages that will enable users to confirm demographic information and assist patients who may need financial assistance with unplanned medical expenses.

"Hospital business offices now have powerful decision tools to assist in managing accounts receivable from patient registration through account resolution," said Bill Calpin, Equifax senior vice president, specialty markets. "Getting accurate ID and financial data up front streamlines registration, assists in establishing payment plans, prioritizes collection cases and even reduces return mail."

Jorge Wong, Medicheck senior vice president, said: "One of the biggest challenges facing health-care providers and insurance carriers is an efficient, accurate and reliable method by which to exchange patient and financial data. This link between Medicheck and Equifax helps in eliminating some of the financial uncertainty that health- care providers face."

With headquarters in Los Angeles, Medicheck Services is an independent marketing organization, offering state-of-the-art information technology and electronic data interchange services to all facets of the health-care industry. Serving both statewide and national organizations, the company formed seven years ago to meet the demands of a complex and ever-changing health-care system.

One of the first services to specialize in data exchange, Medicheck is an affiliate of The Sullivan Group, one of the nation's largest privately held insurance brokerage organizations. Visit its Web site at medicheck.com.

Equifax is a worldwide leader in shaping global commerce by bringing buyers and sellers together through its information, transaction processing, consulting and knowledge-based businesses. Equifax serves the banking, financial, retail, credit-card, telecommunications/utilities, transportation and health-care industries and government.

Founded in 1899, Atlanta-based Equifax today has 14,000 employees in 18 countries and sales in more than 45 countries. Revenues for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 1998, were more than $1.5 billion. For more Equifax information, visit the company's Internet Web site at www.equifax.com.

Statements in this news release that relate to future plans, objectives, expectations, performance, events and the like are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Future events, risks and uncertainties, individually or in the aggregate, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Those factors could include worldwide and U.S. economic conditions, changes in demand for the company's products and services, risks associated with the integration of acquisitions and other investments, and other factors discussed in the "forward-looking information" section in the management's discussion and analysis included in the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 1997, and in the "Year 2000 Information" section in the company's quarterly report on Form 10Q for the period ended Sept. 30, 1998.