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FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Passport Health Communications, Inc. has released a major
upgrade to its health care payment processing services with a new
eCashiering
solution. It expands Passport’s
cash tracking and
credit
card processing services to include electronic check payment
processing that does not require a paper check, setting up payment plans either
to the hospital or another third party and allowing patients to pay via the
Internet or by phone. The solution also is payment processor independent,
allowing providers to maintain the banking relationship of their choice.
Passport’s
eCashiering improves overall hospital collections by improving the
ease to obtain payment or commitment to payment before care is provided, an
increasingly important function in today’s health care environment. A study by
research and consulting firm
McKinsey & Company indicates hospitals and
physicians can expect to retrieve only half a patient’s balance after discharge,
and only 10 to 20 percent from uninsured patients.
“Hospitals must be prepared to request and accept payment or provide for payment
plans from every patient before providing service,” said Passport Chief Sales
and Marketing Officer Jeff Drake. “The release of our
eCashiering
solution is timely because it is the quickest, most secure, versatile and
reliable way to capture high co-pays, deductibles and payments from self-pay
patients early on the front end.”
Industry estimates suggest that by 2010 the number of uninsured Americans will
reach 52 million. Drake said that trend, coupled with a year-over-year 30
percent increase in the number of HSA-eligible health plans, means a continued
increase in self-pay patients requiring payment plans and other processing
capabilities. Diverse payment options for patients with poor credit, such as
such as eChecking
and zero-interest medical finance cards, are also gaining popularity as
traditional means of consumer credit like credit cards have become more
difficult to obtain. According to the
Office
of the Comptroller of the Currency, two out of three national credit
card-issuing banks have tightened credit card lending standards. No banks
reported easing standards.
Passport’s
eCashiering is the most advanced patient payments solution on the
market because it gives users the ability to set up payment plans and apply
discounts. It also operates in combination with Passport’s other front end
services, such as
eligibility verification,
address verification,
patient payment estimation and
credit
reporting and scoring, among others. It is delivered in a number of
ways – through Passport’s Web and integrated platforms and/or implemented into a
hospital’s self-service patient Web portal. Comprehensive reporting capabilities
produce detailed transaction history, enabling providers to track payments
electronically.
The new
eCashiering solution is fully HIPAA compliant and carries the highest
levels of security to prevent data compromise and protect health care providers
against fines and other potentially significant losses associated with a data
security breach. Earlier this year
Passport was certified as a Level 1 Service Provider by the PCI
Security Standards Council, a consortium of credit card issuers including VISA,
MasterCard, Discover Card, American Express and JCB International.
About Passport Health Communications, Inc.
Passport is a health care information technology and services organization
headquartered in Franklin, Tenn. The Passport family of companies sells
administrative, clinical and financial tools to help health care providers
determine eligibility and payment and get paid faster. Its products and services
are used by approximately one-third of all U.S. hospitals and more than 5,000
other health care provider facilities in all 50 states. For more information,
visit
www.passporthealth.com.
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