Experian Plc to acquire Medical Present Value for $185 million

British credit information group Experian Plc today said that it would acquire Medical Present Value (MPV), a provider of data, analytics and software in the US healthcare payments market, for $185 million in cash.

Founded in 1998, Austin, Texas-based MPV is a leading provider of data and software to physicians in the US. Its products are used by healthcare providers to manage payments between patients, commercial payers such as insurance companies and government programmes.

MPVs products help to establish patients' eligibility for insurance or financial assistance, settle out-of-pocket expenses by patient at the point of service and improve collections.  The company maintains a comprehensive database of healthcare claims data and says it serves over 300 major physician groups and academic medical institutions.

Healthcare providers in the US face growing challenges when it comes to billing, coding and collecting for healthcare services. The rules governing healthcare payment plans are increasing in complexity and involve frequent changes to policies. In addition, patients are becoming responsible for a larger proportion of their healthcare bills through higher deductibles and benefit plans for which the patient co-pays. This is causing healthcare practitioners to make greater use of data and analytics in order to manage their billings cycle, said Experian.

London Stock Exchange-listed Experian is a leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 80 countries. The company helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score, and protect against identity theft.

Experian employs around 15,000 people in 41 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; California, US; and São Paulo, Brazil. . The company posted revenues of Total revenue $4.2 billion last year.