Industry sources indicate that managed care company IntraCorp is having its problems of late. It’s bill review business has declined rather drastically, with Sedgwick and ESIS both moving their work to other vendors. These two payers likely represent over 2 million bills annually, which may amount to 40% of IntraCorp’s business.
Organizationally, IntraCorp has been required to move into shared space, and is also using CIGNA corporate counsel and other G&A resources. This is a departure from the previously jealously-guarded independence enjoyed by IntraCorp.
IntraCorp’s new disability management chief, Archie Anderson, is a well-respected sales executive with a long history in the industry. It is most likely that these losses were well in the works before his arrival from Genex. It is likely that one of Archie’s challenges will be to generate enough case volume for Intracorp’s 2400 nurses. While the company continues to lead the industry in terms of sheer volume of cases managed, given the recent trend to reduce the role of field case management Intracorp may find itself with more nurses than it needs.
Unlike Concentra and First Health, Intracorp does not have a large cash-generating PPO network to drive profits. However, with the recent decline in popularity of these big discount-driven networks, this may not be too problematic. If Intracorp can develop or acquire technology that enables it to truly integrate and manage specialty managed care services on a custom basis, it may be able to leapfrog the competition.
That’s a big “if”.
Apr
10
This raises a question for me:
What are the “products” that intracorp offers ( http://www.intracorp.com/IntracorpHome/products/ ) worth?
Supposedly they offer: Case Management, Fee Management, Utilization Review, Physician Advisor Services and Medical Management. Buried in the middle and defining of all Intracorps services is “Utilization Review”. Again, this “product” is the mother of all Intracorps other services.
Utilization Review (U.R.) was a big deal back in the late 80’s to early 90’s. Milliman and Robertson and Interqual criteria are well known by all of today’s providers. “1-800 Mother-May-I” or the UR game where a patient must pre-cerify and meet criteria for treatment has become old hat. Quite frankly, the hospitals and doctors offices all know what the criteria is for just about anything…
So, that said quite frankly, what’s the point?
Case Management sounds oh so much like Disease Management . Can you say “American Healthways”???? http://www.healthways.com Oops! Intracorp should have seen this coming years ago but somehow missed the boat entirely on this idea…
So that leaves Physician Advisor Services, Medical Management and Fee Management… all of which I believe, have very little to do with nurses – let alone 2400 of them… Not to mention, the above three “products” are also offered by every other game in town.
So again, what are the “products” that Intracorp sells worth? How much money (in hard dollar savings) do they produce? What are the advantages of Intracorp’s services as opposed to some other TPA’s ?
TOJ
Looks like Intracorp has reinvented itself or – maybe someone from the Oprah show did a makeover for them… I’ve checked out this site of their’s http://www.careallies.com/ that appears to me to be aimed squarely at employers as an extra reason to buy into CDHP’s/HSA’s…
This from the site: “With CareAllies, you can help your employees improve their health, regardless of medical plan or provider network. And being healthier means lower medical costs and fewer employee sick days for you.”
“Help your employees improve their health regardless of plan,provider or network…lower medical costs and fewer employee sick days ” Um, okay – sign me up – right away ?! And somehow the majority of this magic employee transformation will all be done telephonically and over the internet…
I wonder if Al Gore invented CareAllies ?
I thoroughly enjoyed the April 2006 article by Joe Paduda, entitled, “Troubles at Intracorp”.
I have been an RN since 1971, specializing in UR, for group health and Workers Comp since 1990. Mr. Paduda knows his stuff.
Once again, I have been laid off from a TPA, and I am searching for a position
with a company that lasts.
Thank you,
Robann Heidig, RN
La Mirada, CA
Anyone out there interested
in helping ….regarding
an intercorp physician advisor who has cost a
widow….180,000 because
he gave advice to the life insurance carrier that was allegedly incomplete etc.
I am a retired insurance
claims consultant here in Ohio and this is a thoroughly interesting case.
Anyone read the Rainmaker???
by John Grisholm? Write me
at Smokeejoe68@Juno.com.
I deeply respect confidences. Thanks…