FCG Launches FirstPAS; Hosted Solution for Pended Claims Automation in Health Plans

LONG BEACH, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- Nov. 10, 2004 -- First Consulting Group (FCG), (NASDAQ: FCGI) today launched a hosted solution for health plans that reduces claims processing costs by as much as 50-75% with minimal upfront investment.

FirstPAS(TM) automates claim pends, which are claims that fall out of the auto-adjudication process and require manual intervention in any way. Today, as many as 20-40% of all claims are suspended, resulting in high transaction costs of as much as $2-5 per claim, slower cycle times, increased call center activity and more opportunity for human error.

FirstPAS is part of FCG's FirstOps(TM) composite application suite, and is specifically designed to solve claim pends problems by automating what core administrative systems are unable to handle. FirstPAS combines FCG's business domain and hosting expertise with a flexible business process automation tool, powered by Tranzax(R) from Clear Technology. More than merely moving and tracking data or processes between systems and/or people, FirstPAS replicates the work of claims personnel, thereby delivering significant operational savings and improving the consistency and accuracy of results.

"FirstPAS is a breakthrough solution designed to provide dramatic administrative cost reductions in health plans' most manually intensive activities while significantly increasing quality, service, and speed," said Doug Dietzman, FirstPAS Product Manager, FCG Health Plans.

FirstPAS Delivery

FirstPAS is an adaptable solution that is designed to integrate easily with existing processes, procedures and technologies and requires no selection or licensing of new hardware or software. Short-term, incremental value is expected to be achieved within 90 to 120 days as small groups of FCG specialists identify and automate an initial target set of pend codes that will provide the greatest value to the organization. The detailed steps and data associated with resolving targeted pends are documented and the same logic and data is configured into the solution toolset, hosted in FCG's Nashville data center. Once the initial phase of savings is achieved, the FCG team will move to the next set of pend codes and build on the configuration and integration work just completed.

With FirstPAS, benefits can be realized throughout the healthcare network, including improved employee satisfaction as claim processors can be deployed to more expert-level work, better member and provider satisfaction as claims are paid more quickly and accurately, and increased audit-ability of claim decisions down to detailed data and logic level. The savings associated with FirstPAS are expected to begin immediately after deployment and health plans can typically expect to recoup the upfront investment in just 60 days of production operation.

"Today, health plans can finally move beyond incremental business improvements and realize significant performance enhancement using FirstPAS and other business process automation solutions," said Dietzman. "FCG is leveraging its deep healthcare domain expertise to develop and deliver those solutions to our clients."

FirstPAS is the first hosted solution resulting from the recently signed FCG and Clear Technology license and distribution agreement.

"We are pleased that the growth of our existing relationship with FCG is providing such robust choices for the health plan market," noted George Bennett, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Clear Technology. "We look forward to creating more opportunities for health plan business process automation with FCG in the future."

About FCG

FCG is a leading provider of outsourcing, consulting, and systems integration for healthcare, pharmaceutical, and other life sciences organizations throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Through combinations of onsite, offsite and offshore-outsourced services, FCG provides low cost, high quality offerings to improve its clients' performance. The firm's consulting and integration services increase clients' operations effectiveness with and through information technology, resulting in reduced costs, improved customer service, enhanced quality of patient care, and more rapid introduction of new pharmaceutical compounds. For more information about FCG and FirstPAS, visit www.fcg.com or call 800-345-0957.

Clear Technology, Inc.

Founded in 1998, Clear Technology is the creator of Tranzax(R), a unique platform that captures the work of an individual and performs it in software. This Role Replication(TM) capability allows Tranzax to deliver a virtual workforce to any service organization, rapidly increasing business flexibility, quality and customer satisfaction, while reducing operating costs.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes forward-looking statements based on FCG's current expectations, estimates and projections about its FirstPAS offering. These forward-looking statements can typically be identified by use of words such as "believes," "anticipates" or "expects" and include statements regarding expected benefits to clients upon deployment of the FirstPAS offering. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks which may cause the Company's actual results and performance to be materially different from the future results and performance stated or implied by the forward looking statements.

Some of the risks investors should consider include the following: (a) FCG's ability to implement successfully the FirstPAS solution for clients; (b) acceptance by clients of the FirstPAS solution; and (c) other risk factors referenced in the Company's most recent Forms 10-K, 10-Q and other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking information included in this release, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by FCG or any other person that FCG's objectives or plans will be achieved. FCG undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

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