September 13, 2007 (Nashville, TN) --- Thanks to a new relationship between MHA Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of the Mississippi Hospital Association, and Franklin, Tenn. healthcare services company nTelagent, Inc., Mississippi hospitals now have the ability to make more intelligent decisions while managing the accounts of the uninsured and underinsured patients that they serve.

nTelagent’s web-based Self-Pay Management System is the industry’s premier solution for managing all patient responsibility situations. The system significantly improves the handling of financial accounts for both healthcare providers and their patients. After evaluating the offering, MHA Solutions selected nTelagent to be its strategic partner and endorsed vendor for self-pay management solutions.

“In seeking relationships with organizations addressing the priorities in the MHA strategic plan, MHA Solutions is focusing on reimbursement issues and improvement of the financial viability of our hospitals. The self-pay management system nTelagent brings to healthcare providers is truly unique and we are excited to be able to bring this solution to MHA members,” says Eddie Foster, President of MHA Solutions, Inc.

Self-pay is the portion of the medical bill for which the patient is responsible for payment. This includes co-pays and deductibles for insured patients and the full medical bill for uninsured patients. Historically, the vast majority of self-pay accounts were comprised of uninsured patients. But with the shift to "consumer driven" healthcare plans and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) that carry significantly higher co-pays and deductibles than traditional insurance plans of the past, a greater portion of self-pay accounts are derived from insured patients. Additionally, there are an increasing number of individuals with the financial capacity to purchase health insurance but instead are opting to go without. Recent studies show that approximately 11 million people in the US with annual incomes in excess of $50,000 do not have health insurance. nTelagent gives healthcare providers the tools and processes necessary to manage all types of self-pay accounts, both for uninsured patients and the growing level of insured patients. "Having the MHA Solutions’ endorsement of our solution is exciting," says Earl Winter, CEO of nTelagent, Inc. “The nTelagent organization looks forward to working with Mississippi’s healthcare providers and giving them the tools to make better decisions concerning patient responsibility accounts earlier in the process. This will ultimately lead to increased cash collections upfront and overall and as a result decrease bad debt, as well as provide better administration of charity care policies and improved patient relations.”

There are approximately 112 hospitals that are members of the Mississippi Hospital Association. All members will have access to the nTelagent Self-Pay Management System. The average implementation period is from 4 to 6 weeks and usage fees are based upon volume of patient registrations. The member hospitals are informed of the solution through joint marketing efforts of nTelagent and the MHA Solutions.

The solution is designed to help ensure that a fair and equitable approach can be employed for both patient and provider. For self-pay patients, nTelagent’s system helps ensure that their 2 accounts are handled properly and consistently from the point of service and offers discounting and charity care, as is appropriate, based upon the individual healthcare provider’s business rules and accounting policies. For healthcare providers, nTelagent’s system ensures improvement in up-front cash flow, receivables, and overall profitability by reducing bad debt and improving the revenue cycle process for patients who must pay a portion of the bill through co-pays and deductibles.

About nTelagent
nTelagent is healthcare services company based in Franklin, Tenn. that is privately funded by a group of seasoned healthcare investors. An early investor in nTelagent is Marty Rash, former founder, chairman and CEO of Province Healthcare Company, a publicly-held hospital management company (formerly NASDAQ:PRV) acquired by LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPNT) in 2005. The late Chris Hannon, former CFO of Province, was also a key investor and instrumental in the development of the solution and direction of the Company. Other investors include Joel and Frank Gordon, through their investment firm, Crofton Capital; Jeff Rice, a healthcare entrepreneur and physician; and Laura Campbell, a private investor who was founding executive director of the Nashville Health Care Council. nTelagent’s investors are actively involved in the growth and development of the Company. For more information, visit www.ntelagent.com.

About Mississippi Hospital Association
The Mississippi Hospital Association (MHA) is the state organization that represents and serves all types of hospitals, health care networks, and their patients and communities. Over 100 hospitals, health care systems, networks, other providers of care and their over 50,000 employees come together to form MHA. Through its representation and advocacy activities, MHA ensures that members' perspectives and needs are heard and addressed in national and state health policy development, legislative and regulatory debates and judicial matters. Their advocacy efforts include the legislative and executive branches and include the legislative and regulatory arenas. Founded in 1931, MHA provides education for state health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit www.mhanet.org.

MHA Solutions, Inc. is a wholly owned, for-profit subsidiary of the Mississippi Hospital Association. Incorporated in 1979, MHA Solutions has worked to maintain a diversified product line to meet the needs of the MHA Member Hospitals. The products and resources offered through MHA Solutions are subject to change just as the requirements of its customers – the MHA Member Hospitals – change. In addition to providing savings to the MHA Members by offering discounted products and services, the income generated by the various programs that make up MHA Solutions help to fund advocacy and educational activities, defray operating expenses, stabilize dues and sponsor other events.

MEDIA CONTACT:
For nTelagent - Laura Campbell
CEO, Laura Campbell & Associates
laura@laura-campbell.com
615-579-6599