Self-pay management system and process for the healthcare industry
First Claim
1. A method for obtaining payment for a service comprising the steps of:
- a) submitting identification information about a guarantor responsible for a payment;
b) receiving data based on the identification information submitted, said data including a verification of the identification information, a financial profile of the guarantor, or an estimate of the guarantor'"'"'s ability to pay for the service, or a combination thereof; and
c) presenting to the guarantor a payment plan based upon the data received.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method are described for quickly supplying health care and other service providers with a financial profile of those customers who must pay for all or a portion of their services out of pocket. This allows the service provider to make more consistent and effective decisions about managing collections from customers, thereby reducing bad debt expense. The system can alternatively help the service provider inform its customers about options for financial assistance. The method includes obtaining identifying data from the service provider, obtaining demographic and market data pertaining to the customer from third party sources, generating an independent financial profile of the customer, and timely providing the service provider with this information and a suggested payment plan.
57 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method for obtaining payment for a service comprising the steps of:
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a) submitting identification information about a guarantor responsible for a payment;
b) receiving data based on the identification information submitted, said data including a verification of the identification information, a financial profile of the guarantor, or an estimate of the guarantor'"'"'s ability to pay for the service, or a combination thereof; and
c) presenting to the guarantor a payment plan based upon the data received. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for providing information about a guarantor responsible for payment for a service, comprising the steps of:
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a) receiving from a service provider identification information about a guarantor responsible for a payment;
b) submitting the identification information to one or more third parties in order to obtain third party data, said third party data including information to verify the identification information or information to generate a financial profile of the guarantor, or a combination thereof;
c) receiving the third party data from the one or more third parties;
d) generating a summary from the third party data regarding the guarantor, said summary including a verification of the identification information, or a financial profile of the guarantor, or a combination thereof; and
d) sending the summary to the service provider. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A system for gathering and processing information about a guarantor responsible for payment for a service, comprising:
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a) first means for receiving and storing identification information about the guarantor;
b) second means for querying one or more databases using the identification information in order to obtain data from a third party, said third party data including information to verify the identification information or information to develop a financial profile of the guarantor, or a combination thereof;
c) third means for receiving the third party data;
d) fourth means for generating a summary regarding the guarantor based on the third party data, said summary including the financial profile of the guarantor, an estimate of the guarantor'"'"'s ability to pay for the service, or a payment plan to be presented to the guarantor, or a combination thereof; and
e) fifth means for communicating to a service provider a verification of the identification information or the summary regarding the guarantor, or a combination thereof. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification