LexisNexis to Host New Fraud Fighting Tool for NHCAA Members

LexisNexis(R), a leading provider of legal, news,business information and risk management services, announced todaythat corporate insurer members of the National Health Care Anti-FraudAssociation (NHCAA), as well as law enforcement and regulatoryagencies, will benefit from advanced information and data accesstechnology provided by LexisNexis, as a public service to the healthcare insurance industry. The advanced information and data accesstechnology is called Special Investigation Resource and IntelligenceSystem (SIRIS), which is a robust, easy-to-use computerizedinformation-sharing system used to track and identify potentiallyfraudulent health care cases. The system went live yesterday.

"LexisNexis is dedicated to serving the health care industry andconsumers by creating solutions to combat health care fraud," saidJohn Benson, vice president of health care solutions for LexisNexisrisk management business unit. "That is why we are proud to have thisstrategic alliance with the NHCAA to create industry-leading solutionsfor our customers and corporate insurer members."

NHCAA SIRIS demonstrations will be held Nov. 8-9, 2005, at theNHCAA 2005 Annual Training Conference held in San Diego, California.The conference is sponsored by the NHCAA Institute for Health CareFraud Prevention whose goal is to protect the public interest byproviding unparalleled professional education and training to privateand public sector persons responsible for the prevention, detection,investigation and prosecution of health care fraud. For those unableto attend, LexisNexis and NHCAA will provide training on-line.LexisNexis is a long-standing Premier Sponsor of the NHCAA Institute.

"I can't think of a better example of an alliance in actionbetween the public and private sectors in combating health care fraud... it's right out of our Mission Statement," stated Louis Saccoccio,executive director, NHCAA.

SIRIS Defined

NHCAA insurer members will now be able to share criticalinformation regarding potentially fraudulent health cases far easierthan any information technology heretofore available. Moreover, thedata is rich with useful descriptions of health care fraud schemes,patterns, investigations and trends; all of which can be shared with avariety of law enforcement agencies for reporting suspected fraudulentactivities and ultimately prosecuting those responsible.

Enhanced to be more user friendly, SIRIS provides improvednavigational features and more robust search capabilities. Additionalfeatures to be implemented in the immediate future include data andreport expansion and improved state reporting.

SIRIS Aggregations Plus LexisNexis(R) Data Sets

Each corporate insurer member may enter its case informationincluding the nature and evidence of suspected fraud. Participants whoare also LexisNexis users will have access to public records data setsand link analysis tools. When combined with information aboutsuspected fraud, these investigation resources and tools can driveaction and prosecution of insurance fraud, both criminal and civil.

Criminal Justice System Inclusion

Operating as a triangle of mutuality, this data repository andinformation-sharing effort also encourages and allows access bycriminal justice agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI), the Department of Health and Human Services, Office ofInspector General (HHS-OIG), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services(CMS), Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Internal RevenueServices (IRS) and some state fraud bureaus.

$51 Billion Issue

Viewed as a serious, nationwide crime phenomenon, health carefraud is estimated to cost 3% or $51 billion of America's $1.7 trillion annual health care cost. Health care spending in theU.S. is five times that of defense and three times that of education.Health care insurers, Medicare and Medicaid and consumers bear thecost of fraud which represents an ever growing burden in the form ofincreased premiums, taxes, co-pays and deductibles.

About NHCAA

Founded 20 years ago by several private health insurers andfederal and state law enforcement officials, NHCAA is a uniqueissues-based non-profit organization comprised of private and publicsector organizations and individuals who combat fraud in the nation'shealth care system. NHCAA's mission is to serve and protect the publicinterest by increasing awareness and improving the detection,investigation, prevention and civil and criminal prosecution of healthcare fraud.

NHCAA pursues its mission by maintaining a strong private-publicpartnership and information sharing capabilities, providingunparalleled learning and training opportunities through the NHCAAInstitute , recognizing professional specialization throughaccreditation and by serving as a resource to government, industry andthe media. For information regarding NHCAA Corporate membership andbenefits, please contact Leigh McKenna, Director of Member Services,lmckenna@nhcaa.org.

About LexisNexis

LexisNexis is a leader in comprehensive and authoritative legal,news and business information and tailored applications. A member ofReed Elsevier Group plc (NYSE:ENL)(NYSE:RUK) (www.reedelsevier.com),the company does business in 100 countries with 13,000 employeesworldwide. In addition to its flagship Web-based, Lexis(R) andNexis(R) research services, the company includes some of the world'smost respected legal publishers such as Martindale-Hubbell, MatthewBender, Butterworths, JurisClasseur, Abeledo-Perrot and Orac.

For more than 30 years, LexisNexis(R) has been a pioneer in securedata sharing and information policy. Flagship products such asAccurint(R), Banko(R), PeopleWise(R) and RiskWise(R) assist inlocating people and assets, authenticating identity, enablingcommerce, conducting background screening, and supporting nationalsecurity initiatives. Almost every federal government agency, theleading 100 law firms, and Fortune 500 companies in the fields ofnational security, financial services, collection and recovery,insurance, telecommunications, e-commerce and retail are counted amongthe Company's customers.

LexisNexis and the Knowledge Burst logo are registered trademarksof Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used under license. Accurint is aregistered trademark of Seisint, Inc. Banko and PeopleWise areregistered trademarks of LexisNexis Public Records Services, Inc.RiskWise is a registered trademark of LexisNexis Public Records DataServices Inc. Other products or services may be trademarks orregistered trademarks of their respective companies.