CONTRACT BRIEFS

Thousand Oaks, CA-based WellPoint Health Networks, a health insurance provider, has chosen dental benefits services provider Affiliated Network Services (ANS, Chicago) to provide dental claims processing. In the agreement, ANS will become the preferred dental claims clearinghouse for WellPoint and will offer claims submission services to any organization wishing to transmit dental claims to WellPoint. ANS will also provide translation services to organizations not able to transmit dental claims in a HIPAA-compliant format, and will assist in claims-scrubbing activities to increase claim accuracy.

Farmers Insurance Group of Companies (Los Angeles) will provide approximately 14,000 agents and district managers with Dell (Austin, TX) personal computers. Farmers' agents, who are independent contractors, are usually responsible for their own equipment, according to Farmers. However, the insurer decided to provide agents with PCs because this will complement the existing IBM AS/400 system that many of the agents already use. Farmers expects that the PCs will help expand the agents' capabilities in better serving clients, and will help agents transform to the company's vision of e-enablement.

Delta Dental of Missouri (St. Louis) selected Claimsnet.com (Dallas) to provide online claims submission services to the Delta Dental of Missouri network. The services will allow Delta Dental providers to file electronic claims easily and cost effectively, according to the insurer. Claimsnet.com will integrate with Delta Dental of Missouri's existing aQDen claim adjudication system from Quality Care Solutions, Inc. (Phoenix), a system that processes more than 100,000 claims per month. Claimsnet.com and Quality Care are strategic partners.

The Principal Financial Group (Des Moines) has chosen Wilton, CT-based Mercator to provide enterprise-wide integration transaction support in its healthcare insurance, asset management and residential mortgage business units. Mercator's HIPAA Solution will help The Principal comply with the upcoming HIPAA requirements. The Principal says that with the Mercator technology it will be able to receive HIPAA eligibility requests from providers and respond in the HIPAA-compliant format in less than 60 seconds.

Greg MacSweeney is editorial director of InformationWeek Financial Services, whose brands include Wall Street & Technology, Bank Systems & Technology, Advanced Trading, and Insurance & Technology. View Full Bio