Adapted from an article in Becker's Hospital Review, Thursday, August 19th, 2021:
Geisinger, a Pennsylvania-based healthcare system has partnered with PayZen, the technology partner of BridgeMed*, to launch an artificial intelligence-backed financing solution for patients. Any patient whose financial responsibility exceeds $250 is eligible to enroll in a personalized payment plan.
Four things to know:
- The partnership has been piloted since last fall. Robert Dewar, the chief revenue officer at Geisinger, told Becker's that before the pilot program, patients were given a "single method fits all" approach to payment plans. Since working with PayZen, 82 percent of patients offered the program enrolled and payment adherence increased by about 23 percent. The average monthly payment was $52.
- PayZen increases payment adherence because it allows patients to pay bills over an extended timeline based on the data PayZen analyzes. Payment plans are interest-free and don't incur fees.
- PayZen's algorithm looks at more than 30,000 data points to analyze a patient's ability to pay, such as income, credit attributes and expected future healthcare expenses, a spokesperson told Becker's. If the patient's financial situation changes after the patient is enrolled in the payment plan, the terms can be adjusted.
- "Everything we do at Geisinger is done in an effort to make better health easier for our patients, members and communities," Mr. Dewar said. "This includes making it simpler to afford and pay medical bills with no-interest plans on friendly, customizable terms. We understand that everyone's financial situations are different and it's our obligation to make sure our patients don’t avoid or put off necessary care for financial reasons."
*Geisinger CFO refers to the PayZen platform, the technology platform used by BridgeMed. BridgeMed has collaborated with PayZen over the past 4 years in developing a non-recourse financing solution that helps patients manage their patient responsibility payments. Geisinger’s year-to-date statistics with PayZen indicate an 80% increase in collections and a bottom-line run-rate lift of $6 million. Additionally, the Geisinger executive team has reported that the implementation was simple and that there is no ongoing maintenance required from PayZen.