Taking a page out of the person-to-person money transfer model, health care payments software provider
Text Statements allows patients to view and pay medical bills directly from their smartphone after receiving a text alert, establishing what Waystar says is a more convenient patient financial experience through its cloud-based technology.
“Patients today expect the same convenient payment experiences they receive from other industries, and health care organizations have an enormous opportunity to not only meet those expectations but also better support their own financial needs,” Waystar CEO Matt Hawkins said in a Thursday press release. “Waystar’s technology empowers clients to fundamentally improve how their patients experience medical billing, from sharing cost estimates to offering convenient ways to pay.”
In addition to launching Text Statements, Chicago-based Waystar said it has expanded use of its Price Transparency solution to nearly 300 health systems and hospital care facilities.
Before the hospital pricing transparency mandate went into effect on Jan. 1 this year, Waystar built its Price Transparency solution on its eligibility platform to help patients make better informed decisions about care to determine costs and payment options. With the mandate, Waystar meets the 300 shoppable services requirement and provides consumers a user-friendly shopping experience on the web or from a smart device.
Waystar says its own research found that more than half of patients, who generally don't know what they will owe in medical bills for weeks or even months after a treatment, have been late paying medical bills. The company tells health care providers that with the recent surge in patient preference for payments through digital channels, they can expect to increase on-time payments by 10% to 30% if they provide those payment outlets.
Waystar currently handles more than $3 billion in patient payments, with more than 35 million credit cards on file and nearly 125,000 active patient payment plans.
The company says the new payment software is currently available for new and existing customers as part of the Waystar platform.
Waystar supports more than 450,000 service providers, 750 health systems and hospitals, and 5,000 payers and health plans. The company is backed by EQT, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Bain Capital.
In addition to Chicago, Waystar also has offices in Atlanta and Louisville, Ky.
