Emdeon Achieves CAQH CORE Phase II Compliance

NASHVILLE, Tenn.  April 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Emdeon Inc. (NYSE: EM), a leading provider of healthcare revenue and payment cycle management solutions, today announced it has achieved compliance with the CAQH® Committee on Operating Rules for Information Exchange (CORE) Phase II rules. CAQH, a nonprofit alliance of health plans and trade associations, is 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. Emdeon achieved CORE Phase I compliance in March 2007.

CORE Phase II sets industry-wide standards that improve electronic administrative information exchange between health plans and providers. Both CORE Phase I and Phase II were designed by CAQH to resolve communication disparities created by original Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations. Persistent ambiguity in language and code sets from payer to payer has perpetuated healthcare IT inefficiencies and made adoption of electronic solutions especially challenging, labor intensive and expensive for providers that must interact with multiple payers.

As a leading provider of electronic healthcare transaction processing, Emdeon has long provided technology solutions to manage the flow of information between healthcare payers and providers and bridged the gaps caused by disparate rules for data exchange. In achieving CORE Phase II compliance, Emdeon furthers its position as an industry leader committed to healthcare efficiency and broadens its capabilities to transact information in accordance with industry standards.

"Our CORE Phase II compliance is not only good news for the thousands of providers and payers we interact with daily, it ultimately benefits patients whose care may be improved as their healthcare providers and payers can more easily exchange essential electronic information," explains Damien Creavin, chief information officer of Emdeon.

Creavin continued, "Emdeon is dedicated to reducing costs involved in the claim lifecycle and simplifying the business of healthcare -- with the goal of making the system more efficient and affordable."

CAQH launched CORE to promote interoperability between healthcare payers and providers and to improve provider access to administrative information. The CORE rules are being developed by over 115 participating organizations, representing providers, vendors, health plans, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, state and federal government agencies, associations, standard-setting organizations and other healthcare organizations. More than 20 leading health plans, large provider groups and technology vendors committed to completing Phase II rules certification on or before the end of March 2010. Emdeon is among these organizations.

"The CORE Phase II rules represent a transparent, consensus-based national approach to an expanded set of operating rules for electronic administrative transactions among providers, health plans and vendors," said Robin Thomashauer, CAQH executive director. "By completing CORE Phase II certification, Emdeon is making it easier for everyone to exchange real-time administrative transactions more effectively, thereby improving efficiency and freeing up time for physicians to focus on their patients."

About Emdeon

Emdeon is a leading provider of revenue and payment cycle management solutions, connecting payers, providers and patients in the U.S. healthcare system. Emdeon's product and service offerings integrate and automate key business and administrative functions of its payer and provider customers throughout the patient encounter. Through the use of Emdeon's comprehensive suite of products and services, which are designed to easily integrate with existing technology infrastructures, customers are able to improve efficiency, reduce costs, increase cash flow and more efficiently manage the complex revenue and payment cycle process. For more information, visit www.emdeon.com.

About CAQH
CAQH 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 solutions help promote quality interactions between plans, providers and other stakeholders, reduce costs and frustrations associated with healthcare administration, facilitate administrative healthcare information exchange and encourage administrative and clinical data integration. For more information, visit www.caqh.org.

Statements made in this press release that express Emdeon's or management's intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations or predictions of future events are forward-looking statements, which Emdeon intends to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements often include words such as "may," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements may include information concerning Emdeon's possible or assumed future results of operations, including descriptions of Emdeon's revenues, profitability and outlook and its overall business strategy. You should not place undue reliance on these statements because they are subject to numerous uncertainties and factors relating to Emdeon's operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond Emdeon's control. Although Emdeon believes that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, you should be aware that many factors could affect Emdeon's actual financial results or results of operations and could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, including the risks discussed in the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections and elsewhere in Emdeon's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, as filed with the SEC, as well as Emdeon's periodic and other reports filed with the SEC.

You should keep in mind that any forward-looking statement made by Emdeon herein, or elsewhere, speaks only as of the date on which made. Emdeon expressly disclaims any intent, obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein to reflect any change in Emdeon's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.

SOURCE Emdeon Inc.