Skagit Valley Medical Center Signs Five-Year Deal with MPV to Verify Reimbursement
Multi-specialty clinic will use Phynance™ to identify contractual underpayments

AUSTIN, Texas. – August 21, 2007 – Skagit Valley Medical Center (SVMC), a 50-physician multi-specialty group based in Mount Vernon, Washington, has signed a five-year contract with Medical Present Value, Inc. (MPV). Under the terms of the agreement, the group will utilize MPV's financial tools and expert services to manage payor contracts, audit reimbursement and reduce bad patient debt.

"With our previous methods for identifying underpayments, we were missing some appeal opportunities and lacked the leverage and analysis tools we needed when negotiating new payor contracts," said Larry Thompson, CEO of SVMC. "As consumer-driven health plans become more prevalent and patients cover more of their medical costs, we also needed a way to estimate a patient's financial responsibility before the time of service to help increase collections. We ultimately chose MPV because of their comprehensive approach to payor contract management and their proven track record."

SVMC will partner with MPV contract analysts to define the terms of each individual payor contract and to implement Phynance, a Web-based application that compares payments received against contract terms. This combination of services and technology will allow SVMC to automate contract management at its four locations. In addition, the group will be able to:

• Flag potential underpayments at the line-item level;
• Monitor payor contract performance;
• Assess the financial implications of new contract terms;
• Estimate patient payments at or before the time of service;
• Identify when charges fall below the contract maximum; and
• Streamline revenue cycle management processes.

"By collaborating with MPV, Skagit will have the resources they need to verify accurate reimbursement, improve efficiency and negotiate more favorable payor contracts," said Tom Stampiglia, CEO of MPV.

About MPV
MPV provides medical groups with financial tools and expert consultative services to monitor payor performance, verify reimbursement, reduce registration, coding and posting errors, negotiate better contracts and improve overall cash flow. Serving more than 22,000 physicians nationwide, MPV gives clients better control of their payor contracts, improves workflow efficiency and strengthens the bottom line. For more information, please visit www.mpv.com.

Contact:
Medical Present Value, Inc. (MPV)
Merideth Fulton
512.439.0201
mfulton@mpv.com

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