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The cost of healthcare in the U.S. has been rising chop-chop , but the portion of those toll footed by affected role has increased even faster . Just two decennary ago , fee pay by patients accounted for only 5 % of hospital ’ and doctors ’ revenue , but by 2017 , those feesmade up 35%of revenue .
This tendency inevitably led millions of U.S. citizens to accumulate significant aesculapian debt , which now totalsat least $ 220 billion , according to estimate by independent wellness policy research firm , KFF .
While there ’s no straightforward resolution to this burgeon debt trouble , a 5 - yr - previous startup , PayZen , aims to make healthcare more affordable by enable patients to pay their bills in interest and fee - free installation over time .
The companionship ’s intersection , which it ’s brand as “ wish now , pay later , ” has had strong traction with consumer — PayZen claims that revenue has expanded six times in each of the past two years .
That solid growth recently helped PayZen fill up a $ 32 million Series B , lead by NEA , that also saw participation from live angel , including 7WireVentures , Signal Fire and Viola Ventures . In concurrence with the fairness troll , the ship’s company secured a new $ 200 million storage warehouse credit facility from Viola Credit and a syndicate of insurance companies .
The pear-shaped values the troupe upward of $ 200 million , according to a person conversant with the peck .
This placement also seems to benefit healthcare systems . “ On medium , providers who ferment with PayZen increase their collections rate by 35 % , ” say PayZen ’s founder , Itzik Cohen .
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Although PayZen may have bump off its stride in recent old age , Cohen admits that convincing healthcare providers to offer what ’s essentially a “ buy now , pay later ” production was ab initio challenge .
“ I was surprised that [ most ] BNPL provider did n’t see this massive marketplace as an chance for themselves , ” Cohen told TechCrunch . “ After getting into it , I understand why . It ’s a very complex securities industry . It ’s not like e - commerce . ”
Selling engineering science to healthcare organisation is notoriously difficult .
Besides PayZen , several startups have tried to volunteer “ care now , pay later ” products , but Cohen said that most of these competitors , includingWalnut , have swivel away from providing involvement - gratuitous loans to patient .
According to Cohen , PayZen is the only fintech company offer medical loan that are integrated directly into patients ’ medical criminal record portal site , such as Epic ’s MyChart . Its competitors , including incumbent likeClearBalanceandAccess One , still rely on call centers operated by people . That ’s why Cohen does n’t view them as direct rivals .
“ provider are concerned in an integrated solvent , ” Cohen said . “ Everybody is moving to Epic . So being integrate into Epic pay us an advantage . ”
PayZen currently works with over 60 health systems and large doc groups like Pennsylvania ’s Geisinger and multi - state Common Spirit , who make the startup ’s product available to all patients who receive care from them .
Besides offering post - care loan , PayZen recently introduced a pre - care card . “ We realized that a lot of mass are now being command to pay a deposit before they schedule operation , ” Cohen said . The company also uses its data and AI to aid health systems determine which patients qualify for government financial assistance .
Cohen emphasized PayZen ’s positive contribution to society : “ We have hoi polloi joining us because of our mission , ” he said . “ We go to nap every dark bang that we ’re making a sound wallop on the world . ”
