Transitioning to electronic health records is a major directive of the Affordable Care Act. And while the Act presents many new challenges for insurance companies, the digitization of information and data opens up enormous opportunities, including health care payments.
Until now, payments in the health care sector have been lagging far behind the consumer world, where you can tap a smartphone or credit card to buy a carton of milk, pay just about any bill online, and where even the IRS returns tax refunds electronically.
[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":1574982,"post_type":"vbevent","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"business,","session":"D"}']The inefficiencies of staying glued to paper health care payments add up to $190 billion dollars of waste every year. According to the American Medical Association, providers who opt for electronic payment will save about $2,000 per doctor per year. And faster payment means better cash flow for all stakeholders, including the patient.
But the move is taking time. According to a recent McKinsey study, many digital health care strategies are still driven by information that simply isn’t true. The study resoundingly debunks myths that have been fueling a resistance to digital health care payments — and shows that the public is more than ready.
But are insurance companies — and the VC community — responding?
This is one of the questions asked in HealthBeat’s session, “The future of health care payments.”
Malay Gandhi, managing director of Rock Health; Rajaie Batniji, co-founder & chief health officer of Collective Health; and Vidya Raman-Tangella, VP at United HealthCare Innovation Resource will explore the role of providers, VC players, and payers themselves — and how digitizing payments can improve efficiencies and quality of care.
This is just one of the many HealthBeat sessions featuring some of the most innovative companies working in health technology today. Check out the full agenda for the October 27-28 event, and register to save your spot.