Chase Paymentech Announces A-Claim Integrated Healthcare Payment Solution

A-Claim combines award-winning technology innovation with Chase Paymentech's state-of-the-art payment functionality and enhanced payment processes to provide physicians with reduced accounts receivable, shorter collection cycles and decreased risk of non-payment. A-Claim achieves the full-cycle automation of information and payment flows, from the submission of claims to the receipt of payments and reconciliation. Patients benefit by being able to use their credit or debit card, along with their health insurance information, to automatically pay their portion of the bill.

According to a report from research firm Celent, consumers will make about $250 billion in out-of-pocket medical payments this year. The report indicates that consumer payments in the healthcare market are on the verge of evolving toward a card-based approach, with more sophisticated functionality, increased automation, and greater integration of healthcare information, and cites the need to bundle healthcare claim information with payments.

Chase Paymentech pioneered the technologies that drive today's payments systems for the U.S. retail sector and developed the infrastructure that now supports more than 70 percent of all ecommerce payment transactions in the U.S. With the introduction of A-Claim, Chase Paymentech brings that expertise to bear for the healthcare industry in the shift towards a consumer-driven system. A-Claim provides physicians with a streamlined, fully-integrated platform, designed to enable real-time eligibility, real-time adjudication of medical claims and automated collection of patient responsibility thereby dramatically shortening the billing cycle for most medical offices.

The establishment of this payments infrastructure will help make the consumer-to-provider payments process more efficient and relieve physicians of the headache of managing patient receivables. Of the $1.9 trillion spent on healthcare in the United States each year, $300 billion is consumed by the processing of bills and other administrative functions. Inefficient payment systems account for 15 percent or more of each dollar spent on healthcare, compared with approximately 2 percent for the payment system in retailing, according to recent research from McKinsey & Company.

In the shift toward consumer-directed healthcare, the related costs and complexity of billing have physician providers concerned about the impact of increased collection responsibilities on their bottom line. Physicians typically collect only about 50 percent of outstanding patient balance, resulting in almost $60 billion in bad debt annually.

The healthcare market adopted card acceptance years ago, but issues surrounding claims processing have discouraged providers from promoting this method of payment. However, consumers still expect to be able to pay with credit/debit: credit cards currently account for $45 billion, or less than 20 percent, of consumer total out-of-pocket spending on healthcare. In line with continuing consumer preference toward card-based payments, credit-card payments in the healthcare sector could reach $150 billion by 2015, according to McKinsey & Company.

"Remaining consistent with our goal of providing solutions that work for small businesses, we set out to bring to market an integrated solution for the healthcare provider community that brings payments to the forefront and helps providers reduce the risk of aging account receivables," said Peter Gasparro, group executive, partnership programs at Chase Paymentech. "By providing real- time eligibility at the point-of-service, along with deductible and co-pay verification, A-Claim enables the provider to quickly determine a patient's coverage and gain payment commitment through the convenience of automated credit card payments."

"I'm pleased to be working with Chase Paymentech to bring this new functionality to the market," said Preferred Health Technology President and COO Mary Dees Griffith. "With Chase Paymentech's resources and expertise, we will be able to solve healthcare providers' growing need to speed their accounts receivable collection and improve their cash flow management as the trend toward greater consumer responsibility for healthcare expenses continues."