Mastercard transforms healthcare payments with virtual cards for speed and efficiency

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Enhancing the efficiency of healthcare payment processes, Mastercard is leading the way in the adoption of virtual cards for quicker payments and streamlined reconciliation in collaboration with healthcare providers and insurance companies.

Historically, the healthcare ecosystem has grappled with fragmented and sluggish payment procedures. Much like patients encountering frustrations with intricate insurance claims, healthcare providers face their own challenges in navigating the complexities of claim approvals and payouts.

These hurdles are exacerbated by outdated systems still prevalent in many insurance companies, relying on manual claim processing. Consequently, healthcare providers often contend with substantial payment delays, leading to cash flow constraints and heightened borrowing costs. Additionally, manual reconciliation processes contribute to a lack of visibility into the status of claim payments, adding strain to billing teams.

Despite strides in improving connectivity between insurance companies and healthcare providers through health tech platforms, a critical gap has persisted in the system: payments have remained disconnected from these platforms.

”The healthcare industry is at an inflection point, with evolving digital-first expectations challenging industry norms,” said Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer and president, healthcare, Mastercard. “Around the world, we’ve been working closely with healthcare organizations to better serve their partners and patients with a range of products and services well-tuned to drive simplicity, convenience and efficiency in payments and beyond.”  

In response to these challenges, Mastercard is spearheading an innovative medical claim payment solution utilizing virtual card technology. This groundbreaking solution is being introduced in collaboration with a prominent financial institution in India and Remedinet, a cloud-based health tech platform focused on simplifying cashless claims processing in India.

The healthcare sector in India faces significant challenges, including fragmentation and limited digitization, providing an opportune environment for innovation. The solution is accessible to all insurance-network hospitals in India through the Remedinet platform, aiming to alleviate the strain on healthcare providers and insurance companies caused by the current cashless claim settlement process.

The end-to-end solution seamlessly integrates virtual cards within health tech platforms, such as Remedinet, using API connectivity to connect payers and healthcare providers. Mastercard’s virtual card platform, known for facilitating fast, secure, and straightforward B2B payments, holds substantial promise for the healthcare industry.

Upon submission of an authorized claim to the insurance company, the virtual card is generated by Mastercard and issued by a financial institution to the healthcare provider. This streamlined process addresses the longstanding issue of delayed claim payments, offering a critical working capital solution to healthcare providers.

Placing virtual cards within the health tech platform also facilitates the flow of detailed transaction-level data alongside claim settlement information, providing several benefits to insurance companies, including enhanced transparency and simplified, automated reconciliation.

Chad Wallace, Global Head of Commercial Solutions at Mastercard, expressed the company’s commitment to integrating technology into platform providers to drive seamless B2B payment experiences at a larger scale. Healthcare emerged as a critical industry for unlocking payment efficiencies.

Partners in this initiative, such as Remedinet and Santosh Hospital in Bengaluru, commend the strategic partnership for reshaping healthcare payments. Munish Daga, Director-CEO of Remedinet, envisions a future where claim settlements are truly seamless, while Dr. Santosh Saklecha, Joint Director of Santosh Hospital, appreciates the innovative solution for immediate payments and effective working capital management.

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