Curae Finance has partnered with four new health systems on patient pay.
The health systems announced by the company are Emory Healthcare in Atlanta; The Medical University of South Carolina; Marshall Health in Huntington, West Virginia; and the Kern Family Health Care in California.
They join UFHealth in Florida, Piedmont Healthcare and Banner Health as clients.
The new partnerships come a year after Curae launched its Patient Financial Access Platform to bring together services such as eligibility and benefits verification, personalized payment planning, financing tools and other funding initiatives.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Hospitals and health systems face challenges of cuts to Medicaid funding, which is expected to increase self-pay patients and also decrease enrollment in Affordable Care Act plans when premium subsidies are expected to expire at the end of the year. Also, as costs rise, employers expect to put more of the financial burden of healthcare benefits onto their employees.
Facing these headwinds, providers need to collect every dollar owed.
Patient self-pay is increasing, according to Curae. Half of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings account. Sixty-three percent don’t have enough in savings to cover a $500 emergency.
Curae said it provides funding within 24 to 48 hours of a transaction in an automated process that eliminates AR management. Providers reduce their patient bad debt before and after insurance and improve cash flow.
THE LARGER TREND
Providers are also challenged by collecting payments from insured patients.
The collection rate for providers from commercially insured patients fell from 37.6% in 2023 to 34.4% in 2024. The lower collection rate was due to patients being responsible for a slightly higher percentage of allowable charges.
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org