Aiming to give its 4.6 million enrollees instant info on out-of-pocket costs, Blue Shield of California has locked arms with Google Cloud and its tech partners to set up real-time claims processing.
The development will also benefit healthcare providers, who will immediately know how much reimbursement to expect and how much administrative activity they can prudently avoid, according to an announcement sent Oct. 18 by the private payer.
The digitized system will incorporate not only automated processing but also AI and machine learning, Blue Shield says.
“We are reimagining health care by providing instant billing information that is digital, personalized, transparent and easy to understand,” adds Lisa Davis, the company’s senior VP and CIO.
To this Google Cloud global healthcare solutions exec Aashima Gupta adds that the collaboration will “lead to the creation of a national model to make all healthcare billing instantaneous and understandable, removing friction points for consumers and providers.”
Blue Shield of California’s plan is to roll out the system in phases to all providers and health information exchanges, eventually folding in all plan types and claims categories.
Full announcement here.
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.