CHICAGO, IL -- (Marketwire) -- 01/29/13 -- In an effort to provide the healthcare industry with a smarter patient access process, TransUnion Healthcare today announced the launch of ClearIQ. The exception-based automated decisioning platform provides, among other things, patient payment estimation, insurance eligibility and benefits verification information upfront, making a patient's first point of contact in a hospital faster, easier and more accurate than ever.

The integrated ClearIQ platform is driven by TransUnion's unequaled data assets and industry-leading eligibility, and estimation functionality. Efficient and easy-to-use, ClearIQ provides healthcare providers with Intelligence in an Instant® -- the power to make informed, consistent patient access decisions at the point of service.

"Healthcare reform has pushed the healthcare industry to evolve at an unprecedented pace," said Milton Silva-Craig, executive vice president of TransUnion Healthcare. "Patients are taking on larger cost burdens, and with that, they are looking for clear and accurate interpretations of the costs associated with their healthcare. The ClearIQ platform provides the healthcare industry with the tools that truly can provide intelligence when and where they need it most, giving both the patient and healthcare practitioner a clearer, faster and more accurate picture about the services provided."

The ClearIQ platform provides the following integrated services:

• Identification/Address Verification - Improves registration accuracy by verifying patient demographic and identity data with TransUnion's comprehensive consumer data sources from more than 85,000 data furnishers.
  
  
• Insurance Eligibility and Benefits Verification - Provides real-time electronic verification of patients' insurance eligibility and benefit levels for third party coverage through TransUnion's real-time, direct network covering 98% of insured lives.
  
  
• Ability to Pay Determination - Determines a patient's ability to pay by consulting a financial summary that uses the patient's credit data to calculate financial estimates and easy-to-interpret decision messages.
  
  
• Patient Payment Estimation - TransUnion's market leading solution, which analyzes historical charges, payer contract terms, patient procedural and benefit information with a contracts-based solution that generates an estimate of what patients are likely to owe for medical services.
  

A recent TransUnion Healthcare survey found that many patients would like to see additional information about the services provided to them while at their healthcare provider. The survey of recent patients found that half of them would like to see additional transparency in their healthcare bills. Approximately 20% of respondents said they would be willing to pay for at least part of their hospital bills at the time of service, if more detailed information was provided in their statements.

"We understand that patients want a faster and more transparent understanding of their obligations while at their respective healthcare practitioner," said Silva-Craig. "With TransUnion's solutions, including insurance eligibility and credit data, and the industry's leading estimation solution, we are able to transform an otherwise slow, inaccurate and frustrating process into an integrated solution that serves both the healthcare industry and patients."

TransUnion's survey of recent patients was administered by Google Consumer Surveys and was conducted January 11-13, 2013. Responses were secured from 500 people who were patients at a healthcare facility sometime in the previous six months.

TransUnion Healthcare
TransUnion Healthcare, a wholly owned subsidiary of credit and information management company TransUnion, empowers providers and payers with Intelligence in an Instant® by providing data and analytics at the point of need. In the provider market, TransUnion offers a series of data solutions designed to move critical decision making to the front-end of the revenue cycle process. In the payer market, TransUnion offers healthcare analytics and reporting solutions to help payers meet their reporting needs, control costs and improve the overall health of their members. www.transunionhealthcare.com