Medical Mutual of Ohio and Intuit Cure the Pain of Paying Medical Bills

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Ohio Plan First to Offer System That Makes Doctor Bills Easier to Understand, Track and Pay

CLEVELAND & MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Almost 70 percent of Ohioans are concerned about their ability to manage medical bills for themselves and their families. Medical Mutual of Ohio is addressing this statistic head on by becoming the nation's first health plan to offer Quicken Health Expense Trackersm with bill pay, making medical bills more understandable and now easier to pay than ever before.

Free to members through the Medical Mutual of Ohio Web site, Quicken Health Expense Tracker from Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq:INTU), is transforming the way Ohio patients pay their doctors. It automatically retrieves, organizes, and explains claim and billing information in a way that clearly shows members what they owe and why. It also replaces medical jargon and codes with easily understood language, shows the calculations behind the balance due, and enables convenient electronic payment of medical bills - all in one place.

"At Medical Mutual of Ohio, we recognize that being first to market with Quicken Health Expense Tracker with the ability to pay medical bills is a huge asset to our customers and will help them better manage their healthcare finances," said Bob Mau, Medical Mutual vice president of eBusiness. "Our customers and employees are excited about this new product. We believe this product will differentiate us from others in the region, giving our patients a tool they can use to get additional insight and make better decisions about their healthcare finances."

Quicken Health Expense Tracker now brings the convenience of electronic payments to medical bills, enabling patients to send payments anytime, from any computer, using any debit or credit card, flexible spending account or health savings account.

To pay their doctor, patients simply review the information in Quicken Health Expense Tracker and click the "Pay Now" button. Gone are the days of matching and reconciling different paper bills and explanation of benefits that are difficult for consumers to track.

"Medical Mutual of Ohio was one of the first plans to recognize that the ability to easily understand and pay the medical bill in one place is the key component of the healthcare financial process for its members," said Peter Karpas, president and division general manager of Intuit's Quicken Health Group. "By spearheading innovation, Medical Mutual of Ohio is easing patient frustration around healthcare finances for more than a million people in Ohio today."

When Patients Understand What to Pay, Providers Benefit Too

A 2008 McKinsey study of healthcare providers revealed that 40 percent of patients don't pay their medical bill simply because they either don't understand what to pay or don't think they're responsible for the bill. When it comes to receiving payments, more than 90 percent of medical payments are still received by providers in the form of a paper check.

By helping patients easily understand and pay their bill electronically, Quicken Health Expense Tracker can help providers collect payments faster with less effort, reduce patient phone calls with questions about bills, and decrease the paperwork and costs associated with follow up reminders.

Intuit's Healthcare in Ohio survey also found that more than half of Ohioans feel confused about the medical jargon and codes contained in their medical bills and healthcare paperwork. As a result, 67 percent said they would use a product that would help them understand their bill and the amount owed.

"I love how Quicken Health Expense Tracker explains what the claims were for and how they were paid," said Nichole Hine, an early user of the product from Cleveland. "Before, I hated having to sift through a sea of papers to track down my bills and find out how much I owed and when it was due. Now I can pay them online and it even remembers my information. It's very convenient."

Quicken Health Expense Tracker was developed by Intuit and Ingenix, a UnitedHealth Group company that is a leader in health information solutions. Ingenix played a key role in designing the connectivity between the product and enrollees' health information. To learn more about Quicken Health Expense Tracker, please visit www.quickenhealth.com.

Additional Resources 

    --  More Ohio survey findings can be found at
        www.quickenhealthohiosurvey.com.
    --  For information on Quicken Health Expense Tracker, go to
        www.QuickenHealth.com.
    --  For more information on Medical Mutual of Ohio, go to www.medmutual.com.
    --  Click here for the Quicken Health Group online press room.
    --  Download Quicken Health Expense Tracker logos and screen shots here.
    --  Follow the Quicken Health Group on Twitter at
        www.twitter.com/quickenhealth.
    --  To request for background broadcast footage click here.

About Intuit Inc.

Intuit Inc. is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses; financial institutions, including banks and credit unions; consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services, including QuickBooks(R), Quicken(R) and TurboTax(R), simplify small business management and payroll processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing. ProSeries(R) and Lacerte(R) are Intuit's leading tax preparation offerings for professional accountants. The company's financial institutions division, anchored by Digital Insight, provides on-demand banking services to help banks and credit unions serve businesses and consumers with innovative solutions.

Founded in 1983, Intuit had annual revenue of $3.2 billion in its fiscal year 2009. The company has approximately 7,800 employees with major offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India and other locations. More information can be found at www.intuit.com.

About Medical Mutual of Ohio

Founded in 1934, and celebrating its 75th anniversary, Medical Mutual of Ohio is the oldest and largest health insurance company based in Ohio. The company serves its customers through high-quality, affordable group and personal health insurance plans, and third-party administrative services to self-insured group customers. For more information, visit the company's award-winning Web site at www.MedMutual.com.

About Ingenix

Ingenix, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, transforms organizations and improves healthcare through information and technology. Organizations rely on its innovative products, services and consulting to improve the delivery and operations of their business. More information about Ingenix can be obtained at www.ingenix.com.

Intuit, the Intuit logo, Quicken Health Expense Tracker, and Quicken among others, are registered trademarks and/or registered service marks of Intuit Inc. in the United States and other countries. Other parties' trademarks or service marks are the property of their respective owners and should be treated as such. 


    Source: Intuit Inc.

Released November 11, 2009