National Health Technology Group Recognizes S.C. BlueCross Contributions To Reduce Costs

November 23, 2011

COLUMBIA, SC – November 22, 2011 –  The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI), a health care industry coalition working to reduce administrative costs through electronic commerce, recognized two BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina employees with awards at its recent fall conference.

Jim Daley, risk and compliance director in BlueCross’ information systems department, received the WEDI Chairman’s Award for exceptional leadership and commitment to the advancement of WEDI initiatives. Daley, chairman-elect of WEDI, is leading its initiative on ICD-10. This is an industry wide revision of medical codes that will allow for more detailed and accurate recording of health conditions and treatments, including some 141,000 total codes compared with the current 24,000.

Craig Gabron, a senior client advocate in BlueCross’ information systems department, won an Award of Merit for his work co-chairing the group’s efforts to educate the industry on electronic claims attachments. The goal is to provide possible implementation approaches and to assist with adoption of a new federal rule when it becomes final. Enactment of the federal claims attachment standard, under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is intended to facilitate more efficient processing of electronic claims and with less overhead cost.

WEDI (www.wedi.org) officials presented the awards at a conference it hosted in Baltimore recently attended by more than 400 industry and government representatives.

 

About BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina
Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., and operating in South Carolina for nearly 65 years, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina (www.SouthCarolinaBlues.com) is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. The only South Carolina-owned and operated health insurance carrier, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina comprises more than 45 companies involved in health insurance services, U.S. DoD health program and Medicare contracts, other insurance and employee benefits services, and a philanthropic foundation that funds programs to improve health care and access to health care for South Carolinians.