The Outsource Group Acquires Health Care Legal Services

ST. LOUIS, MO — The Outsource Group, a national leader in healthcare revenue cycle management, announced today it has acquired Health Care Legal Services (HCLS), a California-based company that specializes in helping patients determine if they are eligible for government reimbursement programs in order to pay for healthcare costs. This acquisition is part of the company’s plan to expand its geographic footprint of eligibility services, and Medi-Cal in California represents an important aspect of that strategy.

HCLS has served hospitals in California for more than a quarter-century. Currently, the firm’s client base consists of 74 hospitals, including 28 with Kaiser Permanente — the country’s largest non-profit healthcare organization. HCLS employs a staff of 85, working on site at client hospitals or in the company’s offices located in Santa Ana and Concord, California.

“Helping hospitals identify and successfully enroll qualified patients in Medicaid and other assistance programs is critically important because it provides compensation for the provider and it gives patients access to the healthcare they need,” says Michael A. DiMarco, The Outsource Group CEO. “This is the core area of expertise at HCLS — and it’s one of the many service lines we offer at The Outsource Group. The acquisition of HCLS extends our reach throughout California, where TOG already provides value-added revenue cycle solutions to healthcare providers.”

Donny Zamora is The Outsource Group’s Division President for Medicaid Eligibility and was instrumental in facilitating the acquisition. He states, “Throughout our diligence process, it was obvious that HCLS possessed the same values, passion for excellence, and caring for patients as we do at The Outsource Group. We look forward to HCLS employees and clients becoming part of TOG as we continue to provide a full array of quality revenue cycle solutions to the healthcare industry.”

HCLS President Jim Kozel will remain with The Outsource Group, managing work at the Santa Ana and Concord offices and providing ongoing leadership for the eligibility service line in the West.

“For years, HCLS has been a regional leader in healthcare reimbursement through government programs, like Medi-Cal and Victims of Crime,” says Kozel. “But now, as part of a national revenue cycle management company, we are able to offer our clients far more resources than we have in the past. By joining The Outsource Group, we are better equipped to move our business — and our clients’ — forward.”

The Outsource Group has grown exponentially in the past five years through the acquisition of best-in-class companies and through strong organic growth. Nationally headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, The Outsource Group has offices and operations centers from coast to coast, providing clients with the resources of a large company, plus the individualized services and flexibility of a smaller firm. The Outsource Group continues to seek strategically aligned, best-in-class companies for further expansion in markets across the country.

The Outsource Group is a healthcare revenue cycle management company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. The company specializes in hospital business office outsourcing, insurance resolution, third-party liability, early out/self pay, bad debt collections, Medicaid eligibility and physician billing and collections. With more than 30 years’ experience in the healthcare industry, The Outsource Group works with blue-chip clients, hospitals, private physician practices, hospital-based physician practices and dental practices across the country. The Outsource Group’s operations centers offer clients state-of-the-art technology and analytic processes to ensure the highest rate of account resolution. The Outsource Group provides cost-effective, value-added revenue cycle solutions from a single source.