By: Chris Baswell – Team Member
Last spring, the MIS program at the University of Alabama partnered with Alfa Insurance on a year-long project to provide Alfa with the necessary systems for compliance with recent Medicare legislation. The new rules, found in Section 111 of the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007, mandate that all insurance providers report to Medicare their payouts to Medicare-eligible beneficiaries. This will ensure that individuals do not receive payment for their medical expenses from both a private insurer and Medicare. The deadline for compliance is Q2 2010. Failure to comply will result in fines of $1000 per claim/per day. At that rate, the cost to Alfa could well exceed an estimated $40MM annually.
The project required the UA teams to research the law, develop an understanding of the requirements and design, build and implement a solution for gathering and reporting the requisite information. Thanks to the efforts of the Spring team, Alfa adjusters now have a web application that stores the required data in a database. Our team has now begun work on phase two of the project. The main focus of the team this semester will revolve around designing and building the means of compiling and formatting the data and implementing the process for transmitting that data to Medicare on a quarterly basis.
Additionally, we will be adding print functionality and enhanced search capabilities to the current web application. The purpose of this is to improve the visibility of the data and to integrate these new requirements into Alfa’s existing business processes as neatly as possible. The additional search parameters will allow users to review and update claims more easily. The ability to print the claims will ensure that the data is portable and accessible to all users of the system.
This project represents a unique opportunity for University of Alabama MIS students to gain crucial work experience while providing real value to a business that serves over a million customers. For more information about the UA MIS program and to read about the other exciting endeavors our students are undertaking, visit http://cba.ua.edu/mis
The University of Alabama MIS program allows students to work on real projects that provide real value to real companies. Students learn to leverage people, processes and technology to solve problems and meet the challenges of today’s businesses head-on. For more information, call 205-348-5525 or visit http://cba.ua.edu/mis
Alfa Insurance is a home, auto and life insurance provider with main operations in the Southeastern states of Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. Alfa was founded in 1946 and has since grown to become one of the area’s leading insurance companies. Widely known for superior customer service, Alfa has gained an A++ rating for property, casualty and life coverage. The company also ranks among the Forbes top 200 Best Small Companies in America. As a result of its success, Alfa now serves over a million customers.
The UA team consists of project manager Jarrod Stanley and team members Chris Baswell, Brian Screws and Amanda Wilson. The faculty sponsor is Shane Givens.