The state’s largest business organization is praising a new collaboration with Columbia-based Paytient, saying keeping people healthy and in the workforce is critical.
45,000 Missourians covered by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s health benefit plan can now utilize a new benefit called a health payment account (HPA). They offer members the ability to pay out-of-pocket health care expenses over time. Chamber chief operating officer Brendan Cossette tells 939 the Eagle that this is critical, with Missouri’s serious workforce shortage:
“This partnership with Paytient and this plan allows covered participants to access medicine and medications and to have greater access to their providers because it makes the co-pays so much easier to deal with,” Mr. Cossette says.
The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry says it’s hard for small businesses to afford health insurance. HPAs were created by Columbia-based Paytient, which says the average transaction they see is about $120. Mr. Cossette says members can now seek earlier treatment and diagnostic care vital for chronic condition management. Mr. Cossette says this is a win-win situation:
“It’s wonderful from the side of improving the health specifically of these individuals. But it’s also really important for our economy because a worker who is sick or not doing 100 percent at their job is not being as efficient as possible. Not helping move our economy forward,” says Cossette.
In a 2024 survey of Paytient users, 54 percent of respondents said they would have skipped some or all of their care without a Paytient card. The card can be used to pay both medical and pharmacy costs. David Smith, who leads the partnership division at Paytient, tells 939 the Eagle that this will improve the health of members and avoid preventable financial harm:
“When you buy a house or when you buy a car, today in society we allow those individuals to pay that expense over time. Health care should really be no different in this space. And so we center our solution around the out-of-pocket expenses,” Mr. Smith says.
Paytient was founded in Columbia in 2018. The company says it partners with more than 5,000 employers, payers and healthcare providers.