02.25.08 | Availity and TRANSFIRST® Launch CareCollectSM, Enabling Payment at the Point of Care

JACKSONVILLE, FL and DALLAS, TX (February 25, 2008) — Availity, L.L.C., a leading e-health information exchange, and TRANSFIRST, a leading provider of transaction processing services and payment enabling technologies, today announced the general availability of the Availity® CareCollectSM solution for all physicians and health care providers nationwide. The CareCollect solution is being offered through a partnership with TRANSFIRST, and will provide Availity customers fully integrated payment processing capabilities.

CareCollect is an efficiency tool used by physician practices to improve payment processing, improving workflow and revenue cycle management through effectiveness in handling co-pay and post-adjudication payments from patients. Via the Availity secure web portal, office staff can complete credit and debit transactions in real-time for co-pays or known deductibles, collect information for processing a future payment for estimated total due or unknown balances, and complete payment processing in a back-office environment for key-entered post-adjudication balances.

In addition to processing Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover, CareCollect also allows practices to process electronic PIN-less debits to checking and savings accounts, turn paper checks into electronic transactions, set up recurring payments for repeat patients or installment payment plans, store and hold payment information for post-adjudication payment assurance, void and credit payments, perform end-of-day settlements, and run customized reports of payments processed through the system based on individual practice needs.

"Availity is excited to be working in partnership with TRANSFIRST to offer a valuable new tool to our provider community," said Julie Klapstein, Availity's CEO. "Integrating payment processing into Availity's administrative and clinical service offerings on the Availity Health Information Network brings a seamless solution to the market."

"Providers in the Availity Network now have access to a tool that will improve their ability to effectively protect their earned revenue while they face the current economic shift to increasing patient responsibility," stated Christy Corey,TRANSFIRST Health's President. "These customers rely on the Availity product suite today to maximize efficiency in their claims management and it's a natural progression to add private patient payments into the existing desktop tool. This partnership further exemplifies TRANSFIRST's commitment to improving payment processing and revenue cycle management in the U.S. health care market."

About Availity, L.L.C.
Availity optimizes the flow of information between health care professionals, health plans, and other health care stakeholders through a secure exchange. The Availity Health Information Network encompasses administrative, financial, and clinical services and supports both real-time and batch transactions via the web, business to business (B2B), and electronic data interchange (EDI). Availity is the recipient of several national and regional awards, including Consumer Directed Healthcare, A.S.A.P. Alliance Innovation, eHealthcare Leadership, E-Fusion, Emerging Technologies and Healthcare Innovations for Excellence (TETHIE), and AstraZeneca-NMHCC Partnership. For more information, please visit www.availity.com.

About TRANSFIRST
A leading provider of secure transaction processing services and payment enabling technologies, TRANSFIRST offers innovative products and services designed with financial institution, independent sales organization, health care, eCommerce, government and merchant customers’ unique needs in mind. By collaborating with our customers and utilizing strong industry knowledge, we help them grow their businesses. Founded in 1995, TRANSFIRST continues to attain significant market share and world-class expertise in growing and profitable industry segments. Built on a platform of personal service, customer commitment and flexible pricing, TRANSFIRST is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has operations facilities in Louisville, Colo., Omaha, Neb., Kansas City, Kan., Melville, New York and Milwaukee, Wis. Company-wide, TRANSFIRST currently processes approximately $25 billion in annual sales volume for more than 155,000 merchants and more than 965 financial institutions. TRANSFIRST can be reached at 1-800-745-2659 or at www.TRANSFIRST.com.