nTelagent Solution Endorsed by Tennessee Hospital Association

nTelagent, Inc. announced Tuesday that its Self-Pay Management System has been endorsed by the Tennessee Hospital Association’s THA Solutions Group.

nTelagent’s web-based Self-Pay Management System is a solution for managing all patient responsibility situations. The system significantly improves the handling of financial accounts for both healthcare providers and their patients. After evaluating the offering, THASG selected nTelagent to be its endorsed vendor for self-pay management solutions.

"We believe nTelagent to be an excellent company that has developed a truly unique approach for one of our industry’s biggest problems," says Jim Byrd, vice president of the THA Solutions Group. “I can’t remember the last time I saw hospital CEOs get this excited about a solution."

Self-pay is the portion of the medical bill for which the patient is responsible for payment. This includes co-pays and deductibles for insured patients and the full medical bill for uninsured patients. Historically, the vast majority of self-pay accounts were comprised of uninsured patients. With the shift to "consumer driven" healthcare plans with higher co-pays and deductibles for traditional insurance plans and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) with significantly higher co-pays and deductibles, a greater portion of self-pay accounts are derived from insured patients. Also, an increasing number of individuals who have the financial capacity are opting not to purchase health insurance. For example, approximately 11 million people in the US with annual incomes in excess of $50,000 do not have health insurance. nTelagent gives healthcare providers the tools and processes necessary to manage all types of self-pay accounts, both for uninsured patients and the growing level of insured patients.

"We are honored to have been selected by THASG as a Recommended Solutions Partner," says Earl Winter, CEO of nTelagent, Inc. “The nTelagent organization is looking forward to providing healthcare providers with the ability to make better decisions concerning patient responsibility accounts earlier in the process, which will ultimately lead to decreased bad debt and improved patient relations.”

There are about 139 acute-care hospitals operating in Tennessee, and most of them are members of the THA. All members will have access to the nTelagent Self-Pay Management System. The average implementation period is from 4 to 6 weeks and usage fees are based upon volume of patient registrations. The member hospitals are informed of the solution through joint marketing efforts of nTelagent and the THA Solutions Group.