Australian health insurer nib Group has partnered with payment platform LanternPay and Civica, a London-based public service software provider, to deliver its claiming platform at pharmacies.

Based on a press statement, the digital claiming solution has been rolled out in over 1,300 pharmacies in the country following a six-week pilot. 

WHY IT MATTERS

Through LanternPay's claiming solution, nib's health insurance members can process their claims "on-the-spot" and "paperless" at local pharmacies, moving away from the previous process of "pay first, claim later".

The browser-based platform, backed by Civica's cloud solution, will not require pharmacies to sign up to a particular bank to access the system, which is a usual requirement of other claiming system providers, according to Mirinda O'Gorman, general manager of Healthcare at LanternPay.

The nibGroup is set to expand the digital claiming offering to pathology, targeting to automate up to 70% of pathology claims, deliver significant cost savings and help keep premium costs lower for nib members. It is also looking to offer the solution for every day claiming, such as for physiotherapy, gym, dentist and chiropractor. 

THE LARGER TREND

The nib Group was among health insurers that recently enabled their membership cards to connect to Apple Wallet for contactless claiming at HICAPS terminal. 

ON THE RECORD

"Our members want quick and easy solutions when it comes to claiming which is exactly what this new solution offers. It also provides a better experience for our members, improves operational efficiencies, enables faster claiming times, and is all [a]round better for the environment as there is no longer a need to print receipts," nib Group CIO Brendan Mills said.

"LanternPay works closely with pharmacies to understand what they need to make claiming and payment easier and enables pharmacists to offer a great customer experience to their patients," O’Gorman commented.

"We’re also excited to expand this work in more states across Australia alongside LanternPay as we continue to offer our innovative cloud solutions to the health insurance sector," Civica Managing Director Vinay Chand added.