Third party administrator
Encyclopedia
A Third Party Administrator (TPA) is an organization that processes insurance
claims or certain aspects of employee benefit
plans for a separate entity. This can be viewed as "outsourcing
" the administration of the claims processing, since the TPA is performing a task traditionally handled by the company providing the insurance or the company itself. Often, in the case of insurance claims, a TPA handles the claims processing for an employer that self-insures its employees. Thus, the employer is acting as an insurance company and underwrites the risk
. The risk of loss remains with the employer, and not with the TPA. An insurance company may also use a TPA to manage its claims processing, provider networks, utilization review, or membership functions. While some third-party administrators may operate as units of insurance companies, they are often independent.
Third party administrators also handle many aspects of other employee benefit plans such as the processing of retirement plans and flexible spending account
s. Many employee benefit plans have highly technical aspects and difficult administration that can make using a specialized entity such as a TPA more cost effective than doing the same processing in house.
industry and have the expertise and capability to administer all or a portion of the claims process. They are normally contracted by a health insurer or self-insuring companies to administer services, including claims administration, premium collection, enrollment and other administrative activities. A hospital or provider organization desiring to set up its own health plan will often outsource certain responsibilities to a TPA.
For example, an employer may choose to help finance the health care costs of its employees by contracting with a TPA to administer many aspects of a self-funded health care
plan.
are often partly managed by an investment company. Instead of handling all the plan contributions by employees, distributions to employees, and other aspects of plan processing, the investment company may contract with a third party administrator to handle much of the administrative work and only handle the remaining investment work.
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
claims or certain aspects of employee benefit
Employee benefit
Employee benefits and benefits in kind are various non-wage compensations provided to employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries...
plans for a separate entity. This can be viewed as "outsourcing
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...
" the administration of the claims processing, since the TPA is performing a task traditionally handled by the company providing the insurance or the company itself. Often, in the case of insurance claims, a TPA handles the claims processing for an employer that self-insures its employees. Thus, the employer is acting as an insurance company and underwrites the risk
Financial risk
Financial risk an umbrella term for multiple types of risk associated with financing, including financial transactions that include company loans in risk of default. Risk is a term often used to imply downside risk, meaning the uncertainty of a return and the potential for financial loss...
. The risk of loss remains with the employer, and not with the TPA. An insurance company may also use a TPA to manage its claims processing, provider networks, utilization review, or membership functions. While some third-party administrators may operate as units of insurance companies, they are often independent.
Third party administrators also handle many aspects of other employee benefit plans such as the processing of retirement plans and flexible spending account
Flexible spending account
A flexible spending account , also known as a flexible spending arrangement, is one of a number of tax-advantaged financial accounts that can be set up through a cafeteria plan of an employer in the United States...
s. Many employee benefit plans have highly technical aspects and difficult administration that can make using a specialized entity such as a TPA more cost effective than doing the same processing in house.
Health care
Third party administrators are prominent players in the managed careManaged care
...intended to reduce unnecessary health care costs through a variety of mechanisms, including: economic incentives for physicians and patients to select less costly forms of care; programs for reviewing the medical necessity of specific services; increased beneficiary cost sharing; controls on...
industry and have the expertise and capability to administer all or a portion of the claims process. They are normally contracted by a health insurer or self-insuring companies to administer services, including claims administration, premium collection, enrollment and other administrative activities. A hospital or provider organization desiring to set up its own health plan will often outsource certain responsibilities to a TPA.
For example, an employer may choose to help finance the health care costs of its employees by contracting with a TPA to administer many aspects of a self-funded health care
Self-funded health care
Self-funded health care is a self insurance arrangement whereby an employer provides health or disability benefits to employees with its own funds. This is different from fully insured plans where the employer contracts an insurance company to cover the employees and dependents. In self-funded...
plan.
Commercial general liability
This term is also now commonly used in commercial general liability (CGL) policies or so called "casualty" business. In these instances the liability policies are written with a large (in excess of $50,000) self insured retention (SIR) that operates somewhat like a deductible, but rather than being paid at the end of a claim (when a loss payment is made to a claimant) the money is paid up front by the insured for costs, expenses, attorney fees etc. as the claim moves forward. If there is a settlement or verdict within the SIR then that is also paid by the insured up to the limit of the SIR, before the insurer steps in and pays its portion. The TPA acts like a claims adjuster for the insurance company and sometimes works in conjunction with the inside insurance company claims adjuster or an outside claims investigator as well as the defense counsel. The defense counsel in some situations is selected by the TPA. The point is that the larger the SIR the more responsibility the TPA has over the control of the way the claim is handled and ultimately resolved. Some self insured retentions are in the millions of dollars and the TPAs are large multinational non-insurance entities that handle all the claims. In some cases the insured sets up an entire department within their company (and staffs it with claim savvy people) to act as the TPA as opposed to hiring a commercialRetirement plans
Retirement plans such as a 401(k)401(k)
A 401 is a type of retirement savings account in the United States, which takes its name from subsection of the Internal Revenue Code . A contributor can begin to withdraw funds after reaching the age of 59 1/2 years...
are often partly managed by an investment company. Instead of handling all the plan contributions by employees, distributions to employees, and other aspects of plan processing, the investment company may contract with a third party administrator to handle much of the administrative work and only handle the remaining investment work.