Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Taps ATTUS for Compliance

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA, Chicago) has chosen ATTUS Technologies (Charlotte, N.C.) as a preferred provider for watchlist screening software OFAC, OIG and EPLS, and USA PATRIOT Act compliance solutions. Under the terms of the contract, ATTUS will provide its compliance software to BCBSA's Chicago headquarters and its member Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies nationwide.

ATTUS will offer BCBS companies either WatchDOG Pro, its web-based watch list checking solution, or its desktop counterpart, WatchDOG WinPro. These robust products will allow them to simultaneously cross check their entire database or a single person or entity against OFAC's SDN list and multiple other watch lists. Using an advanced name search recognition algorithm, the software produces more accurate results, reduces false positives and it generates detailed reports for compliance documentation, according to an ATTUS press release.

Members of the healthcare industry, like all U.S. businesses, are required to comply with the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control's (OFAC) sanctioning program, the ATTUS release notes. "When you consider that they must cross check every insured claimant's name against appropriate watch lists in order to comply with OFAC and other regulations, it could get very labor intensive and costly," said Tom Fedell, President and CEO of ATTUS. "We are very pleased to offer BCBS companies our market leading solutions and an affordable and accurate way to facilitate their compliance requirements."

According to the vendor, the capabilities of WatchDOG Pro and WinPro will also give the BCBS companies the ability to choose the watch lists that are applicable for their operations, such as the OIG list, which prevents certain individuals or businesses from participating in federally funded health care programs, and the EPLS list, which blocks targeted individuals or businesses from receiving federal contracts. Checking all applicable lists at the same time reduces the manual effort and the cost of being a compliant organization.

Anthony O'Donnell has covered technology in the insurance industry since 2000, when he joined the editorial staff of Insurance & Technology. As an editor and reporter for I&T and the InformationWeek Financial Services of TechWeb he has written on all areas of information ... View Full Bio