Third Party Administrators

A Third Party Administrator (TPA) is an organization which processes claims or provides cashless facilities as a separate entity. Seen as an outsourcing of claim processing, TPA processes claims for both retail and corporate policies. The risk of loss incurred remains with the insurance company.

The insurance company usually contracts a reinsurance company to share its risk. An insurance company hires TPA to manage its claims processing, provider network and utilization review. While some TPA operates as units of insurance companies, most are often independent. 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.