The statute requires HHS to adopt standards for health insurance transactions by February 1998. The health care industry then has 24 months to implement the standars. Small insurance plans will have 36 months to implement the standards.

According to HCFA (The Healthcare Financing Administration), about 26 cents of every health care dollar is spent on administrative overhead. Administrative overhead includes enrolling beneficiaries in a health plan, paying health insurance premiums, checking eligibility, obtaining authorization for specialist referrals and filing claims.

"This business has no limitations in sight! The healthcare industry is booming and you provide the link between the doctors and the insurance companies . . . Healthcare providers get paid faster and you collect your fees immediately."
BEST BETS FOR 1997
EXTRA INCOME'S TOP BUSINESS PICKS FOR A PROFITABLE NEW YEAR!

"This is a business with hundreds of thousands of potential clients who require your services over and over and over -- definitely a business of the future with a future."
EXTRA INCOME MAGAZINE (September/October 1996)

"An Advantage of Medical Billing is that only a few clients are needed to produce an excellent income stream."
NATIONAL HOME BUSINESS MAGAZINE (1995)

Medical Claims Processing is listed on the "10 hotest businesses" list! "Here's and industry that hardly existed 10 years ago. Today it's booming, but there are still plenty of opportunities for new entrepreneurs."
SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CATALOG (1995)

"An Advantage of Medical Billing is that only a few clients are needed to produce an excellent income stream."
NATIONAL HOME BUSINESS MAGAZINE (1995)

"Doctor's Median Income Fell For First Time In More Than A Decade - High Cost of Claims Submission One of Three Reasons."
USA TODAY (December 20, 1995)

"Medical Claims Processing is rated one of the "TOP 10 BEST BUSINESSES" on all the following lists: Best All-Around , Best-Kept Secrets, Highest Demand-Easiest to Sell, and Most Recession Resistant."
THE BEST HOME BUSINESS FOR THE 90'S (1994)

"Medical billing has become one of the hottest businesses to run from home and start right now. It is rated one of the 'best of the best' by self-employement experts Paul and Sara Edwards."
SMALL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES MAGAZINE (March 1994)

Entrepreneur Magazine rated Electronic Claims Processing in the top ten on their list of the "17 hottest businesses for 1995."
ENTREPRENEUR MAGAZINE (December 1994)

"In an age of electronic wizardry, the U.S. system for paying health care claims is gasping for air under an old-fashioned pile of paper. The simple concept of electronic claims processing--computerized transmission of patient bills over phone lines to payers such as Medicare, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and commercial insurance companies--has somehow eluded the U.S. health care system. But that may be about to change."
HEALTH WEEK (Volume 3, Number 17)

Entrepreneur Magazine lists Electronic Claims Processing as the first in their top 17 hottest businesses for 1993.
ENTREPRENEUR MAGAZINE (December 1992)

"The U.S. Health-Insurance Industry is stepping up efforts to solve one of the most intractable problems in the war on health costs: The processing of Medical Claims. Spurred by political and competitive forces, private insurance carriers are aiming to replace the morass of paper choking the nation's healthcare system with the sort of electronic transaction technology used by banks and airlines."
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (March 13, 1992)

Business and Health Magazine analyzes the shift from paper claims to electronic claims, and quotes the John Hancock Financial Services as follows, "We wanted to eliminate paper, reduce the complexity of the health care system for our employees, improve customer service, and tighten up the system."
BUSINESS AND HEALTH MAGAZINE (February 1992)

"Electronic insurance claim processing is a quick, easy method of transferring information directly to insurance carriers. The average turn-around is 14 to 30 days, depending upon the carrier, and errors are virtually eliminated. Best of all, the medical practice will realize a nearly immediate cash flow increase."
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA MEDICINE (February 1992)

"About 80% of all health care claims originate within the physician's office, but only 3% of these claims are automated. The vast majority are handled manually."
COMPUTERS AND HEALTH CARE (January 1992)

New Business Opportunists Magazine states "the market is unlimited", and rated Electronic Claims Processing businesses as the 6th most desirable and highest-rated, home-based business opportunity for the 90's.
NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES MAGAZINE (September, 1991)

"With insurance claims, the name of the game is maximum reimbursement. Claims must be processed quickly and they must be accurate. If a claim form is incomplete, if one digit is wrong or one box not filled in, that payment will be delayed...Electronic claims are handled more promptly, usually within two weeks. Manually submitted forms can take two to four months to process."
PHYSICIANS AND COMPUTERS (Volume 8, Number 10, 1991)

"Medical Claims Processing services is one of the home-based businesses identified as best for the 90's."
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS (October, 1991)

"Whatever form the electronic claims processing industry takes in health care, it's clear that it will continue to grow and it will probably do it quickly". According to Robert Back of La Salle Street Institutional Managers, a Chicago investment firm, "It's like the FAX machine was a few years ago."
HEALTH WEEK NEWSPAPER (August, 1989)