HIE Seeks to Streamline Life Insurance Underwriting

Healthix, a large New York-based health information exchange, has partnered with Clareto on an effort to use the data available in the HIE to streamline life insurance underwriting, which traditionally includes requesting medical records via fax and mail and performing medical exams and laboratory tests.

Richmond, Va.-based MedVirginia Inc., doing business as Clareto, said it is using its experience in healthcare interoperability to commercialize new use cases such as life insurance underwriting.

Healthix is the largest public HIE in the nation, bringing together more than 1,000 healthcare organizations across New York City and Long Island. It provides secure access to clinical data of more than 17 million patients.

Through their partnership, life insurers, and eventually long-term care and disability insurers, will be able to access electronic health data via standards-based exchange and, subject to patient consent, to ease the underwriting process.

“With records of more than 17 million individuals from thousands of sources representing the continuum of care in the greater New York region, Healthix is uniquely positioned to support a process that can potentially save time and cost, while streamlining the applicant's experience and expediting coverage. The benefit to the consumer is considerable,” said Todd Rogow, president and CEO of Healthix, in a statement.

Rogow was recently promoted to president and CEO from the chief information officer position at Healthix, succeeding Tom Check, who is retiring at the end of April.