HMS Holdings, a provider of analytics and engagement solutions for healthcare, signed a definitive agreement to acquire Accent, a provider of healthcare payment integrity solutions.
HMS will purchase Accent from Intrado Corporation (fka West Corporation) for approximately $155 million.
The Accent offerings include complete prospective and retrospective claims accuracy solutions, which consolidate both cost avoidance and overpayment recovery services.
“HMS and Accent are an outstanding strategic fit, and this combination offers numerous benefits for our clients and stakeholders,” said Bill Lucia, HMS Chairman and CEO in a press release. “Our collective strengths will provide expanded payment accuracy capabilities across the healthcare payer landscape, and advance cost containment opportunities in the industry.”
The Accent business generated approximately $50 million in net revenue in 2019. Its spectrum of healthcare payer clients includes provider-sponsored health plans, commercial health plans, Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, Medicare Advantage plans, third-party administrators, and self-insured employer groups.
“The addition of Accent’s capabilities will open up a new coordination of benefits market for HMS with commercial payers, and extends our push into the Medicare COB market,” Lucia added in the press release. “Accent’s ideation expertise will also expand our range of edit and audit solutions, and enhance our skills across all of our COB and Payment Integrity solutions.”
Since 2011, HMS Holdings acquired four digital health companies, including the latest acquisition of Accent.
The other three acquisitions included healthcare engagement management company, Eliza Corporation for $170 million, care management software provider Essette for approximately $20 million, and healthcare services company HealthDataInsights that specializes in the identification and recoupment of claim overpayments, for roughly $400 million.
According to Mercom data, since 2010, over 100 healthcare payment integrity and billing companies have been acquired for a total value of over $8 billion. Most (93) of these transactions recorded in the United States.
