Point of service third party financial management vehicle for the healthcare industry

Abstract

A point of service third party adjudicated payment system is provided that includes a point of service terminal which accepts payment system access information for payment for a purchase of at least one of a service and product by a customer. A settlement engine processes said purchase transaction so as to determine a portion of said purchase which is to be paid by the customer and returns a settlement transaction to said point of service terminal designating obligations for payment by the customer. A payment system accesses a payment account so that the customer is charged said portion of said purchase which is to be paid by the customer.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A point of service third party adjudicated payment system, comprising:
 a point of service terminal which accepts payment system access information for payment for a purchase of at least one of a service and product by a customer;   a settlement engine which processes said purchase transaction so as to determine a portion of said purchase which is to be paid by the customer and returns a settlement transaction to said point of service terminal designating obligations for payment by the customer; and   a payment system which accesses a payment account so that the customer is charged said portion of said purchase which is to be paid by the customer.   
     
     
         2 . A system as in  claim 1 , wherein said settlement engine adjudicates said purchase transaction. 
     
     
         3 . A system as in  claim 1 , wherein said settlement engine processes said purchase transaction in substantially real time. 
     
     
         4 . A system as in  claim 1 , wherein said settlement engine is connected to a node on the Internet and said point of service terminal accesses said settlement engine via an Internet connection to said node. 
     
     
         5 . A system as in  claim 1 , wherein said payment system access information is retrieved from a payment system access card comprising one of a credit card, debit card, and purchase card, said payment system includes a credit card network, and said settlement transaction is formatted as a credit card transaction for said credit card network. 
     
     
         6 . A system as in  claim 5 , wherein said purchase transaction includes at least one of product and service codes which said settlement engine compares to payment parameters and conditions from a third party payor to determine said portion of said purchase which is to be paid by the customer. 
     
     
         7 . A system as in  claim 6 , wherein the point of service provider is a healthcare provider and said payment parameters and conditions are determined by a healthcare policy between an employer of the customer and the third party payor. 
     
     
         8 . A system as in  claim 7 , wherein said payment system access card is cobranded so as to include an account number for said credit card network and said healthcare policy. 
     
     
         9 . A method of providing customer settlement at a point of service, comprising the steps of:
 providing payment system access information from a payment system access card to a point of service provider for payment for a purchase of at least one of a service and product by a customer, at least part of said purchase being reimbursable by a third party payor;   transmitting a purchase transaction to a settlement engine for processing;   said settlement engine determining a portion of said purchase which is to be paid by the customer;   receiving from said settlement engine a settlement transaction at said point of service designating obligations for payment of said portion of said purchase which is to be paid by the customer;   and charging the customer said portion of said purchase which is to be paid by the customer through said payment system access card.   
     
     
         10 . A method as in  claim 9  further comprising said settlement engine adjudicating said purchase transaction. 
     
     
         11 . A method as in  claim 9  further comprising processing said purchase transaction in substantially real time. 
     
     
         12 . A method as in  claim 9 , wherein said settlement engine is connected to a node on the Internet and said transmitting step comprises the step of providing an Internet connection to said node. 
     
     
         13 . A method as in  claim 9 , wherein said payment system access card includes one of a credit card, a debit card, and a purchase card, and wherein said funds transferring step comprises the steps of formatting said adjudicated settlement transaction as a credit card transaction and processing said adjudicated settlement transaction in a credit card network. 
     
     
         14 . A method as in  claim 9 , wherein said determining step comprises the step of comparing at least one of product and service codes in said purchase transaction to payment parameters and conditions from a third party payor to determine said portion of said purchase which is to be paid by the customer. 
     
     
         15 . A method of providing payment of reimbursable healthcare costs to a healthcare provider at a point of service of a patient, comprising the steps of:
 providing a payment system access information to the healthcare provider at said point of service for payment for a purchase of at least one of healthcare products and services by the patient, at least part of said purchase being reimbursable by a third party payor;   transmitting a purchase transaction to a settlement engine for processing; said settlement engine determining a portion of said purchase which is to be paid by the patient;   receiving from said settlement engine a settlement transaction at said point of service designating obligations for payment of said portion of said purchase which is to be paid by the patient; and   transferring funds in accordance with said obligations for payment of said settlement transaction whereby the patient is charged said portion of said purchase which is to be paid by the patient.   
     
     
         16 . A method as in  claim 15  further comprising said settlement engine adjudicating said purchase transaction. 
     
     
         17 . A method as in  claim 15  further comprising processing said purchase transaction in substantially real time. 
     
     
         18 . A method as in  claim 15 , wherein said settlement engine is connected to a node on the Internet and said transmitting step comprises the step of providing an Internet connection to said node. 
     
     
         19 . A method as in  claim 15  further comprising retrieving said payment system access information from a payment system access card that is cobranded so as to include an account number for a credit card network and a healthcare policy between an employer of the patient and the third party payor, wherein said funds transferring step comprises the steps of formatting said settlement transaction as a credit card transaction and processing said settlement transaction in said credit card network. 
     
     
         20 . A method as in  claim 19 , wherein said determining step comprises the step of comparing at least one of product and service codes in said purchase transaction to payment parameters and conditions from the third party payor to determine the value of said portion of said purchase which is to be paid by the patient.