MultiPlan Acquires NCN – Will PPO’s Morph Or Disappear?

     MulitPlan has acquired NCN, a company that touts medical cost transparency and accountability. This business model is at variance, in our opinion, to the business model practices of PPO networks (proprietary contracts, secrecy, behind-the-curtain agreements). Did the Cat swallow the mouse?

MyHealthGuide Source: NCN, 5/29/2011, www.ncnelink.com and www.multiplan.com MultiPlan, the nation’s oldest and largest supplier of independent, network-based cost management solutions, has acquired NCN, a firm with powerful, data-driven tools, which achieve rational, cost-based reimbursements that control costs on more than $2 billion of healthcare claims each year. While neither MultiPlan nor NCN has announced the acquisition on their respective websites, a Google search reveals NCN’s website with a browser heading of, “NCN – A MultiPlan Company.” In addition, NCN personnel has contacted us verifying the acquisition. As provider networks come under increased pressure to innovate, it makes sense for MultiPlan to acquire NCN and its arsenal of tools and relationship to harness healthcare costs. NCN has Data iSight, a ground-breaking methodology that empowers every patient, payer and provider to understand the real cost of care and determines rational payment for medical services. Data iSight decodes the cost-of-care and uses that powerful information to keep healthcare charges under control. NCN has relationships with The National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA), a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization, with the goal to develop and promote private alternatives to government regulation and control, solving problems by relying on the strength of the competitive, entrepreneurial private sector. NCN has also partnered with The Phia Group, ERISA experts and claim recovery specialists. Together, NCN and The Phia Group provide a seamless process to document review and analysis to maximize your savings on in- and out-of-network claims. About NCN Founded in 1994 by Tom Galas and Karen Lurkowski, NCN develops and deploys technology and software solutions to create powerful, data-driven tools to win fair reimbursements for those who pay for the delivery of healthcare in the United States. Our innovative services help control costs on more than $2 billion in healthcare charges each year. Visit www.ncnelink.com. About MultiPlan Founded in 1980, MultiPlan is the nation’s oldest and largest supplier of independent, network-based cost management solutions. With more than half a million healthcare providers under contract, an estimated 40 million consumers accessing our network products, and some 70 million claims processed through our networks each year, we’re the right choice for healthcare payers and providers, who today face unprecedented cost and competitive pressures. Visit www.multiplan.com.