Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 8, 1993 TAG: 9301120364
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Staff Report
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
IN BUSINESS
Va. Blues to study electronic processingBlue Cross and Blue Shield of Virginia said Thursday it is participating in a federally sponsored demonstration intended to show that electronic medical transaction processing can reduce health care costs.
Health Communication Services Inc., a subsidiary of the Virginia Blues plan, is participating in the six-month project to find cost solutions in the health care industry.
The focus of the study is to increase the volume of transactions and reduce administrative costs through electronic data interchange systems.
More than 98 percent of Virginia's hospitals already use such systems for claims processing. About 165 hospitals and 5,000 health care providers are taking part in the Virginia demonstration. - Staff report
\ Briefly . . .
Home Shopping Network Inc., on Thursday postponed its Jan. 12 annual meeting to provide time to send shareholders material related to the proposed purchase of a controlling interest in the company by Liberty Media Corp. A new meeting date has not been scheduled. The St. Petersburg, Fla., television sales company - which operates a distribution center in Salem - said the Justice Department has asked for additional information relating to its antitrust review of the proposed transaction.
\ First Union Corp., Charlotte, N.C.-based banking company that intends to acquire Dominion Bankshares, announced Thursday a public offering of $250 million in five-year senior notes with a 6.75 percent coupon at a price of 99.157. The net proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes. The offering is scheduled to close Jan. 15. The underwriter is Goldman, Sachs & Co.