September 23, 2004

AT&T announces that it has signed a multimillion-dollar national agreement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield for a range of network services to support claims processing, call-center management capabilities and access to patient and provider information.

The contract expands on an existing agreement between the companies, and continues AT&T’s relationship wit BCBSA and its member plans as primary networking services provider. BCBSA is made up of 41 independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that together provide healthcare coverage to more than 88 million Americans.

Earlier this year, AT&T announced a deal through which it would provide BCBSA with hosting and storage area network services from its Chicagoland Internet data center, enabling BCBSA to deploy a nationwide provider data registry.

Under the new agreement, Blue Plans across the country will gain access to a portfolio of AT&T voice, data, hosting, IP and managed services.

"We are continually looking at ways to help our member organizations provide affordable healthcare and best-in-class service to their customers," said Jody Voss, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association executive director of business development.

"By extending our relationship with AT&T under a national agreement, we are able to provide Blue Plans with significant savings and innovative, reliable options for all their networking needs."

Source: The WHIR