CHAFFEE -- Echo Billing Center, which provides electronic filing of health insurance claims for physicians and other health-care-related businesses, has opened in Chaffee.

Margaret Phegley, a Chaffee native who has been in the health care billing business 11 years, is the owner. She has completed four months of training with Network Billing Center (NBC), a national software technology company which has established processing centers throughout the nation.

"I have worked in various doctors' offices and hospitals, in all phases of billings," said Phegley. "During the past five years I have worked closely with Medicare and Medicaid claims."

The government has required doctors to file claims for all Medicare patients since September of 1991.

"This has resulted in additional work for physicians' office," said Phegley. "Echo Billing Centers files claims on Medicare and Medicaid, and many others for all health care providers."

She continued, "We file claims electronically which reduces average payment time. We eliminate rejected, late and inaccurate billings."

Phegley noted that in 1989, 28 million paper claims were insufficiently completed and had to be returned by the insurance carrier to the medical provider for additional information.

Phegley adds that she hopes to expand her operation quickly, into the Cape Girardeau and entire Southeast Missouri areas.