Lebanon has long been a regional medical hub. Its doctors are famous beyond its borders and its hospitals sought after. However, in terms of medical insurance, the country is still underdeveloped, both in terms of reach — only 500,000 people are insured, most of them in the greater Beirut area — and of management. As of 2007, one aspect of the medical sector has seen a kind of shake-up — that of Third Party Administrators (TPA). A TPA is a financial transaction administrator that handles the processing and paperwork for health insurance, acting as intermediary between insurance companies and clients. Its functions often include the management of claims processing, provider networks, and utilization review. In Lebanon, until last year there was no independent TPA, as the existing ones — like Mednet, Medical Express and Banker Assistance – were owned by insurance companies and thus it was questionable if they would
