HEALTH CARE FINANCING SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20090276244A1
• Filed: 01/23/2008
• Published: 11/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Transunion Intelligence LLC (TransUnion Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Transunion Intelligence LLC (TransUnion Corporation)
• Inventors: Dolamore, Phillip, Baldwin, Byron S. JR., Mahaney, Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 8,185,408 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

A computer implemented method for determining eligibility of a patient to receive financial assistance. The method utilizes health care financial assistance information associated with at least a first potential health care financial assistance plan and a second potential health care financial assistance plan, wherein the patient is not enrolled in either of the first or second potential health care financial assistance plans at the time of the determination of the eligibility, wherein the first potential health care financial assistance plan is provided by a first health care financial assistance plan provider, wherein the second potential health care financial assistance plan is provided by a second health care financial assistance plan provider, wherein the health care financial assistance information associated with the first potential health care financial assistance plan includes first provider qualification criteria and wherein the health care financial assistance information associated with the second potential health care financial assistance plan includes second provider qualification criteria. A system for financing health care is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A computer program product stored on a computer-readable medium, the computer program product having computer-executable code instructions which are executable on a computer server to determine eligibility of a patient to receive health care financial assistance, the computer-executable code instructions comprising:

first code instructions for receiving patient data;

second code instructions for comparing at least a portion of the patient data to qualification criteria for each of a plurality of health care financial assistance plans stored in a database within a computer memory, each of the plurality of health care financial assistance plans offering defrayment of at least a portion of a health care expense incurred by the patient if the patient qualifies for the respective health care financial assistance plan;

third code instructions for determining if the comparison satisfies the qualification criteria for at least one of the plurality of health care financial assistance plans; and

fourth code instructions for providing notification of eligibility for every one of the plurality of health care financial assistance plans in which the comparison satisfied the qualification criteria.

2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, further comprising

fifth code instructions for receiving credit information derived from a credit report of the patient;

and

sixth code instructions for comparing at least a portion of the credit information to the qualification criteria for each of the plurality of health care financial assistance plans stored in the database.

3. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein at least one of the health care financial assistance plans is provided by an entity selected from the group consisting of a hospital, a private foundation, a for-profit entity, and a not-for-profit entity.

4. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein at least one of the health care financial assistance plans is selected from the group consisting of Medicare, Medicaid, WAGES, TANF, and WIC.

5. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the qualification criteria includes a debt to income ratio.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, further comprising fifth code instructions for verifying residence information of the patient.

7. A computer-based system for determining eligibility of a patient to receive health care financial assistance, the system comprising:

a computer server;

a computer memory having computer-executable code instructions stored therein comprising;

first code instructions for receiving patient data;

second code instructions for comparing at least a portion of the patient data to qualification criteria for each of a plurality of health care financial assistance plans stored in a database within the memory, each of the plurality of health care financial assistance plans offering defrayment of at least a portion of a health care expense incurred by the patient if the patient qualifies for the respective health care financial assistance plan;

third code instructions for determining if the comparison satisfies the qualification criteria for at least one of the plurality of health care financial assistance plans; and

fourth code instructions for providing notification of eligibility for every one of the plurality of health care financial assistance plans in which the comparison satisfied the qualification criteria.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the computer-executable code instructions stored within the memory further comprising:

fifth code instructions for receiving credit information derived from a credit report of the patient; and

sixth code instructions for comparing at least a portion of the credit information to the qualification criteria for each of the plurality of health care financial assistance plans stored in the database.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein at least one of the health care financial assistance plans is provided by an entity selected from the group consisting of a hospital, a private foundation, a for-profit entity, and a not-for-profit entity.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein at least one of the health care financial assistance plans is selected from the group consisting of Medicare, Medicaid, WAGES, TANF, and WIC.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the qualification criteria includes a debt to income ratio.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the computer-executable code instructions stored within the memory further comprising fifth code instructions for verifying residence information of the patient.

13. A method in a computer system having a computer server processor and a computer memory for determining eligibility of a patient to receive health care financial assistance, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving at the computer server processor, over a communication network from a plurality of client machines, health care financial assistance information, including qualification criteria, for each of a plurality of health care financial assistance plans, each of the plurality of health care financial assistance plans offering defrayment of at least a portion of a health care expense incurred by the patient if the patient qualifies for the respective health care financial assistance plan;

storing the health care financial assistance information in a database within the memory;

receiving at the computer server processor, over a communication network from a client machine, patient data;

comparing using the computer server processor at least a portion of the patient data to qualification criteria for each of a plurality of health care financial assistance plans stored in the database within the memory;

determining using the computer server processor if the comparison satisfies the qualification criteria for at least one of the plurality of health care financial assistance plans; and

transmitting from the computer server processor notification of eligibility for every one of the plurality of health care financial assistance plans in which the comparison satisfied the qualification criteria.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

receiving at the computer server processor, over a communication network from a client machine, credit information derived from a credit report of the patient; and

comparing using the computer server processor at least a portion of the credit information to the qualification criteria for each of the plurality of health care financial assistance plans stored in the database.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the health care financial assistance information includes health care grant amounts for the health care financial assistance plan.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein at least one of the health care financial assistance plans is provided by an entity selected from the group consisting of a hospital, a private foundation, a for-profit entity, and a not-for-profit entity.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein at least one of the health care financial assistance plans is selected from the group consisting of Medicare, Medicaid, WAGES, TANF, and WIC.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the qualification criteria includes a debt to income ratio.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of verifying using the computer server processor residence information of the patient.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of verifying residence information of the patient is facilitated by a reverse telephone number lookup.