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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JOPARI SIGNALS STRONG 2007 EDI COMPLIANCE PUSH BY PAYERS SEEKING SOLUTIONS IN STATES ROLLING OUT WORKERS’ COMP E-BILL & E-PAY RULES

Prospect of Paperless Transaction Deadlines Forcing Insurers to Find
Affordable Technology that Enables Compliance

CONCORD, CA—JANUARY 9, 2007—Acquiring technology to accept and pay bills electronically is a key operational milestone for workers’ compensation payers in 2007. According to Jopari Solutions, Inc., the property and casualty industry’s leading supplier of payment automation and EDI compliance services, near term demand for standardized EDI processing capability has become a hot issue for insurer and TPA claims operations in a growing number of state jurisdictions.

Coordinating closely with the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC), which is working aggressively to achieve national adoption of workers’ compensation EDI standards over the next several years, lead states already have set timetables implementing mandatory e-Billing and e-Payment rules, including accelerated provider payment timeframes (CA) and mandatory Medical Bill EDI reporting.

Three states in particular have administrative rules and data schemes finalized or set for publication by early 2007. Respective legislative mandates are under California Labor Code §4603.4, Texas Labor Code §408.0251 and Florida Administrative Code 69L-7.602 / 69L-56. In addition, numerous jurisdictions are actively considering legislation supporting industry conversion to universal ANSI X12 837/835 transaction standards for medical bill and payment processing.

Regulatory pressure to transition from conventional paper based bill and payment processing to standardized electronic transactions is spurring leading insurers and TPAs to evaluate technology solutions that provide compliance in addition to improved operational efficiencies.

According to Steve Stevens, CEO of Jopari, “End-to-end electronic bill and prompt payment mandates are reshaping the jurisdictional landscape workers’ compensation payers must deal with. Fortunately, advancements in technology offer an immediate answer. Jopari services, for example, deliver comprehensive front to back compliance for the payer, with little impact on the payer’s existing IT resources. Capturing and standardizing all bill and pay data also allows us to seamlessly execute medical EDI state reporting. Our view is these kinds of readily implemented, cost effective bill cycle automation services are mission critical for Payers competing to win in today’s demanding regulatory environments.”

Although a number of solutions providers are expected to enter the jurisdictional compliance technology market, companies like Jopari, highly experienced in workers’ compensation as well as Health Care e-transaction services, are already delivering full back-end payment automation services to clients. While implementation of e-Bill and e-Pay requirements in Texas is slated for January 2008, and targeted for early 2008 in California, many payers are moving now to put compliant solutions in place.

Jim Grim, Jopari Vice President, commented: “Payers need to act quickly to evaluate available solutions and make go-forward decisions. Jopari is in negotiations with several large national carriers and TPAs who know that they need to move on this issue now. Waiting until Q3 of 2007 is not an option. Compliance aside, there is very strong ROI on e-Bill and e-Pay automation, and Jopari is in an excellent position to provide payers with a comprehensive single vendor solution covering e-Bill, e-Pay and state reporting requirements”

ABOUT JOPARI SOLUTIONS

Jopari Solutions, Inc. supplies Integrated Payment and Compliance Solutions to Workers’ Compensation, Auto, and Health Insurance industry Payers. Jopari significantly improves the technology Payers use to manage bills and disbursements, and substantially reduces associated expenses. Jopari services enable insurance Payers to comply fully with regulatory requirements, including e-Bill and e-Pay jurisdictional initiatives, and HIPAA. Insurance and other industry Payers take advantage of JopariPay™ to permanently downsize processing and labor costs, increase operational competitiveness and realize immediate positive returns on investment. www.jopari.com

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