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A-Claim combines award-winning technology innovation with ChasePaymentech's state-of-the-art payment functionality and enhanced paymentprocesses to provide physicians with reduced accounts receivable, shortercollection cycles and decreased risk of non-payment. A-Claim achieves thefull-cycle automation of information and payment flows, from the submission ofclaims to the receipt of payments and reconciliation. Patients benefit bybeing able to use their credit or debit card, along with their healthinsurance information, to automatically pay their portion of the bill.
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According to a report from research firm Celent, consumers will make about$250 billion in out-of-pocket medical payments this year. The reportindicates that consumer payments in the healthcare market are on the verge ofevolving toward a card-based approach, with more sophisticated functionality,increased automation, and greater integration of healthcare information, andcites the need to bundle healthcare claim information with payments.
Chase Paymentech pioneered the technologies that drive today's paymentssystems for the U.S. retail sector and developed the infrastructure that nowsupports more than 70 percent of all ecommerce payment transactions in theU.S. With the introduction of A-Claim, Chase Paymentech brings that expertiseto bear for the healthcare industry in the shift towards a consumer-drivensystem. A-Claim provides physicians with a streamlined, fully-integratedplatform, designed to enable real-time eligibility, real-time adjudication ofmedical claims and automated collection of patient responsibility therebydramatically shortening the billing cycle for most medical offices.
The establishment of this payments infrastructure will help make theconsumer-to-provider payments process more efficient and relieve physicians ofthe headache of managing patient receivables. Of the $1.9 trillion spent onhealthcare in the United States each year, $300 billion is consumed by theprocessing of bills and other administrative functions. Inefficient paymentsystems 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 andcomplexity of billing have physician providers concerned about the impact ofincreased collection responsibilities on their bottom line. Physicianstypically 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 issuessurrounding claims processing have discouraged providers from promoting thismethod of payment. However, consumers still expect to be able to pay withcredit/debit: credit cards currently account for $45 billion, or less than 20percent, of consumer total out-of-pocket spending on healthcare. In line withcontinuing consumer preference toward card-based payments, credit-cardpayments in the healthcare sector could reach $150 billion by 2015, accordingto McKinsey & Company.
"Remaining consistent with our goal of providing solutions that work forsmall businesses, we set out to bring to market an integrated solution for thehealthcare provider community that brings payments to the forefront and helpsproviders reduce the risk of aging account receivables," said Peter Gasparro,group executive, partnership programs at Cha
