Tag: health insurance

Apple Pay brings mobile payments to health care invoices

| April 17, 2015

This type of transaction for iPhone users has now been integrated into the InstaMed network.

At the same time that a growing number of people are using mobile apps to help them to keep tabs on their health and fitness habits and progress, it has now been announced that Apple Pay is now integrated into the InstaMed network, which will make it possible for policyholders to pay their health insurance premiums and even their copayments with their devices.

This represents yet another way in which mobile devices are making their way into the health care industry.

This will make it possible for anyone in the InstaMed network to be able to accept mobile payment options through Apple Pay users. This includes the consumer facing apps of health care providers, venders, and payers, alike. That transaction service is currently limited to customers who use the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, as well as the iPad mini 3, the iPad Air 2, and – very shortly – the Apple Watch. The goal is to help to reduce the confusion associated with paying this sort of bill and to make it more simple and convenient for customers.

Apple Pay is considered to be an exceptionally innovative mobile payments technology.

Apple Pay - HealthThis helps to explain why it was the mobile payment program of choice for this network’s initial integration of the tech. According to the co-founder and CTO of InstaMed, Chris Seib, “Approximately 20 percent of consumers have unpaid health care bills as a result of confusion in the payments process. This will only grow as more and more consumers continue to enroll in high deductible health plans.”

Seib went on to explain that a technology as innovative as Apple’s mobile payments system has the capability to help to “resolve consumer confusion and rising bad debt” that has become highly problematic within the health care industry. He praised the security, simplicity and privacy of this payment process.

He also pointed out that beyond Apple Pay, mobile payments as a whole “are expected to reach $142 billion by 2019.” Therefore, he feels that it is important for the health care industry to leverage exactly this type of solution in order to be able to continue to meet the needs of consumers.

Wearables could reduce the price tag on employer healthcare

| March 17, 2015

The co-founders of Jiff are working to encourage workers at large companies to live healthier lifestyles.

Co-founders of a startup called Jiff have taken the example from PayPal, Facebook, and Tickle, and have developed a way to incorporate that knowledge into wearables that will encourage employees of companies such as Red Bull, Activision Blizzard, and Qualcomm to take on healthier behaviors and better overall lifestyles.

They have now raised just under $26 million in order to create a disruption to benefits programs from employers.

The strategy is to provide employees with meaningful incentives to encourage them to take on healthier behaviors. This will use a range of different methods and tools, including wearables, in order to improve the overall health of employees and to drive down the costs associated with their health insurance packages. Among the incentives that are being offered is to be able to earn credits that can be applied against deductibles if claims need to be made on their health plans.

Wearables in the form of fitness trackers, smartwatches, and other gadgets help to show who is truly participating.

Wearables - Cut price tagBy using wearable technology, employers don’t need to take a worker’s word for it. They can actually see exactly how much effort an individual employee is putting into the healthy lifestyle strategy so that they can receive their incentive rewards.

According to the CEO of Jiff, Derek Newell, “Our engagement is usually with the head of benefits. … We work with them to determine what behaviors they want to incent or what challenges they want to design into the system.” The incentives for this program are fully customizable, depending on the current health of a given employee. For instance, a worker who is currently managing diabetes would be offered different types of rewards than someone who hasn’t been diagnosed with any chronic conditions at all.

On the side of employers, this wearables based health tracking program helps to promote cost reductions when it comes to providing their employees with healthcare coverage. Moreover, this type of program has also been shown to boost the overall feeling of community and goodwill within a workplace.