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Nashville, Tenn., Nov. 29, 2011 – Council Capital, a Nashville-based private equity firm focusing on investments in early growth and growth companies in the healthcare services and healthcare IT sectors, has completed a growth investment and partial recapitalization of Payment America, a Nashville-based healthcare company providing outsourced revenue cycle services for a number of major healthcare systems. In addition, Council Capital’s affiliated TNInvestco, Council and Enhanced Tennessee Fund, participated in the transaction. This investment gives Payment America additional capital to build out infrastructure to support its sustained growth trajectory.

        “Payment America is a great example of the type of growth healthcare investment Council Capital is seeking, with experienced management and an innovative approach that has generated significant momentum. Payment America is reducing costs for its healthcare provider clients by improving the way they operate in a previously overlooked part of the revenue cycle,” said Grant Jackson, Council Capital general partner.

        Payment America principally provides patient-responsibility receivables processing on behalf of clients. The company is experiencing substantial growth by providing health systems better information and insight into patient-level profitability and improved patient collections delivered through a cloud-based data analytics solution. Payment America is serving more than 1,000 facilities nationwide. Clients include several multi-billion dollar health systems.

        “This funding will better allow Payment America to take advantage of the growing opportunity to assist healthcare organizations in managing patient-responsibility receivables and improving their operating decisions based on patient-level information,” said Barry Becker, chief executive officer, who had a 25-year career with Emdeon, where he was instrumental in launching and managing the pharmacy, medical and patient statement businesses, which have grown to over $750 million in revenue. “Healthcare insurance plans continue to pay a decreasing percentage of total costs, highlighting the need for total revenue-cycle management. The current levels of 5 – 8% paid by patients are expected to rise to 14 – 20%.”

        Elizabeth Trinkler has served as chairman and owner of Payment America for more than 20 years, succeeding her father, Charles F. Miller, who founded the company. Trinkler has kept Payment America at the forefront of technological innovation and significantly expanded the company’s lines of business.

        “The past several years have seen tremendous change in the payment for healthcare procedures. Council Capital will bring expertise and resources that will help the company provide clients with the right solutions in this dynamic environment,” said Erik T. Miller, senior vice president and grandson of the company’s founder.

About Payment America

        Payment America Systems, Inc. is a Nashville, Tenn.-based provider of outsourced revenue cycle services principally providing patient-responsibility receivables processing on behalf of health systems. The company manages receivables and executes business process solutions for more than 1,000 facilities nationwide and has managed in excess of $2 billion of receivables for clients over the past decade. Payment America remains at the forefront of technology and innovation in healthcare. In 2010, the company launched a data analytic solution which gives clients a longitudinal view into their patient-level profitability by providing transaction analytics. See www.paymentamerica.com for more information.