US20200211137A1

US20200211137A1 - Healthcare payment aggregation system

Info

Publication number: US20200211137A1
Application number: US16/730,084
Authority: US
Inventors: Drew Mercer
Original assignee: Payground Inc
Current assignee: Payground Inc
Priority date: 2018-12-31
Filing date: 2019-12-30
Publication date: 2020-07-02
Also published as: WO2021138478A1; US20220207616A1

Abstract

A healthcare payment aggregation service is provided. The service receives invoice information (e.g., identifying a patient and an amount due) sent from multiple healthcare providers who each sends their own invoices to its patients. The service receives a request from a user to access their invoices. The service identifies invoices received from multiple healthcare providers that identify the user as the patient. The service displays an indication of the healthcare provider and amount due of one or more the identified invoices. The service receives from the user an instruction to pay the amount due of a designated invoice of the displayed invoices. The system directs that payment for the amount due of the designated invoice be transferred from an account of the user to an account of the healthcare provider of the designated invoice. The service then notifies the healthcare provider of the designated invoice of the payment.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/787,150 filed on Dec. 31, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

A patient may interact with many healthcare providers to receive the best medical care. Indeed, some patient can interact with 10 or more healthcare providers. These healthcare providers may include primary care physicians, specialists (e.g., neurologist and rheumatologists), physical therapists, hospitals, laboratories, and so on. These healthcare providers may not be affiliated with each other. As a result, each healthcare provide may send its own invoices to its patients. Even what may appear to a patient to be single healthcare provider may actually be in fact multiple healthcare providers. For example, a hospital may have emergency room physicians, surgeons, physical therapists, radiologists, and so on who each affiliated with different organizations that each sends its own invoices to patients.
A patient who receives many invoices from many healthcare providers may have difficulty keep track of what invoices have been paid and when the invoices have been paid. As a result, patients may not pay their invoices in a timely manner. To help patients keep track of their invoices, to improve cash flow, and to avoid the cost of paper invoices, many healthcare providers provide portals (e.g., websites) through which their patients can track their invoices and make payments. The healthcare providers may send electronic notifications (e.g., emails and text messages) to patients when an invoice is issued and past due. Although a portal can be convenient for a patient, if a patient interacts with many healthcare providers, the patient may find it very inconvenient to have to access multiple portals to pay their healthcare invoices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a display page for a patient to pay an invoice without having to log in to the HPPA system in some embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a display page for a patient to pay an invoice in some embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates a display page for a patient whose provider is signed up for automatic reconciliation is registered to pay an invoice in some embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates a display page for a patient whose provider is not signed up for automatic reconciliation in some embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates a display page for confirming payment in some embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates a dashboard display page for a patient in some embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates a dashboard display page for a healthcare provider in some embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates a create invoice display page in some embodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates a collect on-site payment dialog box in some embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram that illustrates components of the HPPA system in some embodiments.

FIG. 11 illustrates flow diagrams of the processing of various systems of a HPPA service in some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Methods and systems are provided for aggregating patient invoice and payment information of multiple healthcare providers who are not affiliated with each other. In some embodiments, a healthcare provider payment aggregation (“HPPA”) system of an HPPA service provides patients with access to invoices of the healthcare providers (even unaffiliated healthcare providers) that provide services to the patients. For example, if a patient receives medical services at both a hospital and a clinic that is unaffiliated with the hospital, the patient can view invoices from both medical providers via a patient interface provided by the HPPA system. The HPPA system also provides payment processing service for the invoices. Continuing with the example, when the patient indicates to pay an invoice of the hospital, the HPPA system may use stored credit card information to make the payment to the hospital on behalf of the patient. Similarly, the HPPA system can use the stored credit card information to make a payment to the clinic. A payment can be made when manually requested by a patient or via an automatic payment feature.
In some embodiments, the HPPA system receives invoice information sent from healthcare providers who are registered with the HPPA system. The invoice information may be sent by an HPPA application that executes on a computer system of a healthcare provider and that provides invoice and payment services to the healthcare provider. The HPPA application may alternatively execute on a computer system controlled by the HPPA service (e.g., cloud-based) that provides a webpage patient experience. Alternatively, the invoice information may be sent by an HPPA interface client that executes on the computer system of the healthcare provider and that interfaces with an existing invoice and payment system of the healthcare provider. The invoice information includes invoices that identify the patient and the amount due. The invoices may also identify the healthcare provider, an invoice identifier (e.g., invoice number), a service date, a due date, a description of the service, and so on.
When the HPPA system receives a request from a patient to access their invoices, the HPPA system identifies invoices received from healthcare providers that identify the patient as the patient. For example, the patient may be identified by a government issued identifier, full name along with address and date of birth, and so on. The HPPA system may then display invoice information for each invoice (e.g., pending invoice) for the patient. When the HPPA system receives from the patient an instruction to pay the amount due of a designated (e.g., selected) invoice of a displayed invoice, the HPPA system directs payment of the amount due (or another amount) of the designated invoice be transferred from an account of the patient to an account of the healthcare provider of the designated invoice. The HPPA system then notifies the healthcare provider of the payment. The healthcare provider can be notified immediately after the payment is completed or notified periodically (e.g., nightly) along with other payment notifications. The HPPA system also provides various reports to the healthcare providers such as pending invoices, paid invoices, average time to payment, overdue invoices, and so on.
The service provided by the HPPA system that allows for healthcare providers to send their invoices (or more precisely accounts-receivable information) to the HPPA system and receive payments for those invoices is referred to automatic reconciliation service. The HPPA system provides the automatic reconciliation only to healthcare providers who are registered for that service. A healthcare provider can alternatively register for a manual reconciliation service. With a manual reconciliation service, the healthcare provider does not provide invoices to the HPPA system. Rather, a patient provides invoice information (identifying the healthcare provider and invoice) to the HPPA system, and the HPPA system directs payment of the invoice on behalf of the patient. The invoices of the manual reconciliation service are referred to as patient-provided invoices because they are provided by the patient and not the healthcare provider. With the manual reconciliation service, the HPPA system also notifies the healthcare provider of the payment.
In some embodiments, the HPPA system provides a patient interface that allows patients to effectively monitor and pay their invoices. The HPPA system provides a dashboard display page that identifies one or more pending invoices of different healthcare providers. The dashboard display page also identifies recent payments to the healthcare providers and may provide payment statistics (e.g., total payments to each healthcare provider). The HPPA system provides an invoices pending display page through which the patient can review all pending invoices including invoices from different healthcare providers and pay the invoices. The HPPA system provides a healthcare provider display page through which a patient can review authorized healthcare providers for which the patient has authorized the HPPA system to receive invoices of the patient and through which the patient can authorize and de-authorized healthcare providers.
In some embodiments, the HPPA system may also provide an intelligent notification system to both prevent a patient from feeling overwhelmed by the notifications and improve the speed of payments. The intelligent notification system may allow each healthcare provider to establish its own notification plan for its patients. For example, one healthcare provider may establish a notification plan to send two electronic notifications (e.g., two weeks apart) followed by paper notifications until a patient is made, and another healthcare provider may send four electronic notifications followed by paper notifications. The intelligent notification system may provide a healthcare provider with the option of allowing the intelligent notification system to automatically establish a notification plan that is tailored to each patient. The intelligent notification system can use knowledge of the notification history of a patient with multiple healthcare providers and payment history (e.g., payment patterns) to select a notification plan that is likely to be effective for a patient. For example, if a patient only pays an invoice after receiving a paper notification, the intelligent notification system may establish a notification plan for that patient that only sends paper notifications. In contrast, if a patient tends to pay an invoice after three electronic notifications, the intelligent notification system may send three (or four) electronic notifications to that patient before sending a paper notification. In such a case, the intelligent notification system may reduce the time between electronic notifications, for example, from two weeks to 10 days to encourage faster payment. The intelligent notification system may use various algorithms for establishing a notification plan for a patient which may include establishing a notification plan specifically designed to learn the payment behavior of a patient. For example, an algorithm may establish an initial notification plan that sends five electronic notifications and then paper notifications (and possibly subsequent electronic notifications). If a patient tends to pay invoices after three electronic notifications, the algorithm may adjust the notification plan to send only three electronic notification followed by paper notifications. If a patient does not even respond after five electronic notifications, the algorithm may skip electronic notifications and immediately send a paper notification. Also, the algorithm may also establish a notification plan that factors in the history of the timing when a patient makes payments. For example, if a patient tends to pay invoices on the second day of a month, the algorithm may send an electronic notification on the first day of the month. As another example, if a patient tends to pay invoices two days after the initial electronic notification, the algorithm may send the second electronic invoice five days later rather than the standard 10 days later.
Although the HPPA system is described primarily in the context of invoices relating to service providers that are healthcare providers, the HPPA system (or more generally, a service provider payment aggregation system) can be used to aggregate payment information for many different types of service providers that provide services to service recipients (e.g., customers or other individuals, organizations, and persons responsible to pay invoices for services provided for a service recipient). For example, the service providers may include attorneys, accountants, photographers, gardeners, pool cleaners, housekeepers, and so on.
FIG. 1 illustrates a display page for a patient to pay an invoice without having to log in (e.g., a patient without an account) to the HPPA system in some embodiments. A display page 100 includes selection options 110 that indicate the user has specified that they are a patient. To pay an invoice without having to log in, the patient can select the pay invoice button 120.
FIG. 2 illustrates a display page for a patient to pay an invoice in some embodiments. A display page 200 includes a provider selection field 210 and a predictive matches area 220. As the patient starts to enter the name of a healthcare provider, the predictive matches are updated. The patient can then select one of the healthcare providers of the predictive matches.
FIG. 3 illustrates a display page for a patient whose provider is signed up for automatic reconciliation is registered to pay an invoice in some embodiments. A display page 300 displays invoice number field 310 and invoice payment information box 320. The HPPA system may also brand the various display pages with names and logo of the providers. For example, since the provider is known to be Acme Pediatrics, the HPPA system may add a logo for Acme Pediatrics to the top of display page 300. When a patient enters the invoice number of the invoice to be paid, the HPPA system checks its database (or data stores) to determine whether an invoice with that invoice number for the selected healthcare provider has been received. If so, the HPPA system populates the invoice payment information box 320 with information such as patient name, patient email address, and invoice amount 321. The patient can enter credit card information into the credit card boxes 322, or the credit card boxes may be prepopulated when the patient has an account with the HPPA system. When the patient selects the submit payment button 323, the HPPA system directs payment of the invoice and notifies the healthcare provider.
FIG. 4 illustrates a display page for a patient whose provider is not signed up for automatic reconciliation in some embodiments. If an invoice with the invoice number entered on display page 200 has not been received from the selected healthcare provider, then the HPPA system displays display page 400 that includes fields 410 for entering the patient name, date of birth, date of visit, and email address. After the patient enters this information, the HPPA system displays an invoice payment box 420 that allows the patient to enter the payment amount 421 and credit card information 422. The patient can then select the submit button 423 to authorize payment.
FIG. 5 illustrates a display page for confirming payment in some embodiments. A display page 500 identifies the patient's email that is used to identify the patient and provides a password entry field 510. If the patient is not registered with the HPPA system, the patient can register by entering a password for the registration. The patient then selects a button 522 the dashboard display page. The HPPA system also provides a separate registration process so a patient can register prior to making a payment.
FIG. 6 illustrates a dashboard display page for a patient in some embodiments. A dashboard display page 600 includes a pending invoice section 610, a recent activity section 620, a recently paid healthcare provider section 630, a registered payment section 640, and payment statistics 650. The pending invoice section lists at least some of the pending invoices, which may include the most recent invoices or past due invoices. The recent activity section lists recent payments by the patient. The recently paid healthcare provider section list healthcare providers to whom payments have recently been made. The registered payment section lists registered payment information such as credit card information. The payment statistics information displays statistics about patient invoices and payments such as total payments made in the last year.
FIG. 7 illustrates a dashboard display page for a healthcare provider in some embodiments. A dashboard display page 700 includes a collect on-site payment button 310, a statistic area 720, and graphs 730 and 740. A healthcare provider selects the collect on-site payment button to record a payment made by the patient on-site at a medical facility directly to the healthcare provider. The statistics area displays various statistics relating to the healthcare provider such as such as the number of invoices that have been paid. The graphs illustrate revenue information and patient payment information.
FIG. 8 illustrates a create invoice display page in some embodiments. A create invoice display page 800 includes data entry fields 810 and a send invoice button 820. If a patient has already paid an invoice to the provider, the provider can select a patient to display all the fields except for the invoice amount. The healthcare provider then enters the invoice amount and selects the send invoice button.
FIG. 9 illustrates a collect on-site payment dialog box in some embodiments. When healthcare provider selects the collect on-site payment button, the HPPA system displays a dialog box 900. The dialog box allows the healthcare provider to enter a payment amount that is paid by the patient on-site at a medical facility identified on display page 800.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram that illustrates components of the HPPA system in some embodiments. The HPPA system 1010, healthcare provider payment (“HPP”) systems 1020, and patient systems 1030 communicate via communications channel 1040. The HPPA system includes a receive invoice information component 1011, a send payment notifications component 1013, a patient user experience component 1015, and a healthcare provider user experience component 1017. The HPPA system also includes an invoice information store 1012, a payment store 1014, a patient store 1016, and a healthcare provider store 1018. The receive invoice information component receives invoices from the HPP systems and stores the invoice information in the invoice information store. The send payment notifications component sends payment notifications to the HPP systems based on payments recorded in the payment store. The patient user experience component provides display pages to patients based on information stored in the invoice information store, payment store, and patient store. The healthcare provider user experience component controls the user experience for a healthcare provider and stores invoice and payment in the healthcare provider store. The healthcare provider user experience component may also be implemented on an HPP system.
The computing systems (e.g., network nodes or collections of network nodes) on which the HPPA system may be implemented may include a central processing unit, input devices, output devices (e.g., display devices and speakers), storage devices (e.g., memory and disk drives), network interfaces, graphics processing units, cellular radio link interfaces, global positioning system devices, and so on. The input devices may include keyboards, pointing devices, touch screens, gesture recognition devices (e.g., for air gestures), head and eye tracking devices, microphones for voice recognition, and so on. The computing systems may include desktop computers, laptops, tablets, e-readers, personal digital assistants, smartphones, gaming devices, servers, and so on. The computing systems may access computer-readable media that include computer-readable storage media and data transmission media. The computer-readable storage media are tangible storage means that do not include a transitory, propagating signal. Examples of computer-readable storage media include memory such as primary memory, cache memory, and secondary memory (e.g., DVD) and other storage. The computer-readable storage media may have recorded on them or may be encoded with computer-executable instructions or logic that implements the HPPA system. The data transmission media are used for transmitting data via transitory, propagating signals or carrier waves (e.g., electromagnetism) via a wired or wireless connection. The computing systems may include a secure cryptoprocessor as part of a central processing unit for generating and securely storing keys and for encrypting and decrypting data using the keys.
The HPPA system may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules and components, executed by one or more computers, processors, or other devices. Generally, program modules or components include routines, programs, objects, data structures, and so on that perform tasks or implement data types of the HPPA system. Typically, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various examples. Aspects of the HPPA system may be implemented in hardware using, for example, an application-specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”) or field programmable gate array (“FPGA”).
FIG. 11 illustrates flow diagrams of the processing of various systems of a HPPA service in some embodiments. Flow diagram 1110 illustrates the processing of an HPP system, flow diagram 1120 illustrates the processing of HPPA system, and flow diagram 1130 illustrates the processing of a patient system. Initially, the HPP system sends 1111 invoices to the HPPA system. Upon receiving invoices, the HPPA system stores 1121 the invoices in the invoice information store. In response to receiving a request to retrieve invoices, the patient system sends 1120 the request to the HPPA system. Upon receiving the request, the HPPA system retrieves 1122 invoices from the invoice information store. The HPPA system then sends 1123 the retrieved invoices to the patient system. Upon receiving the invoices, the patient system receives payment authorization from a patient and sends 1132 the authorization to the HPPA system. Upon receiving the notification, the HPPA system stores 1124 invoice payment information in the payment store. The HPPA system then directs 1125 payment to be made to the healthcare provider. The HPPA system then sends 1126 a payment notification to the HPP system. Upon receiving the payment notification, the HPP system stores 1112 payment information in the payment store and completes.
The following paragraphs describe various embodiments of aspects of the HPPA system. An implementation of the HPPA system may employ any combination of the embodiments. The processing described below may be performed by a computing system with a processor that executes computer-executable instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium that implements the message interface system.
In some embodiments, a method performed by one or more computing systems of a healthcare payment aggregation service is provided. The method receives invoice information sent from a plurality of healthcare providers. The healthcare providers that separately create invoices their patients. The invoice information includes invoices that each identifies a patient and an amount due. The method receives a request from a user to access their invoices. The method identifies invoices received from multiple healthcare providers that identify the user as the patient. The method displays an indication of the healthcare provider and amount due of one or more the identified invoices. The method receives from the user an instruction to pay the amount due of a designated invoice of the displayed invoices. The method directs that payment for the amount due of the designated invoice be transferred from an account of the user to an account of the healthcare provider of the designated invoice. The method notifies the healthcare provider of the designated invoice of the payment. In some embodiments, the method receives from another user a request to pay a patient-provided invoice that has not been received from a specified healthcare provider by the healthcare payment aggregation service. The request identifies a payment amount and the specified healthcare provider. The method directs that payment for the payment amount due be transferred from an account of the other user to an account of the specified healthcare provider. The method notifies the specified healthcare provider of the payment for the patient-provided invoice. In some embodiments, the request to pay the patient-provided invoice identifies the specified healthcare provider, and the notifying of the specified healthcare provider identifies the patient-provided invoice. In some embodiments, each invoice includes an invoice identifier, and the notifying includes providing the invoice identifier of the designated invoice to the healthcare provider. In some embodiments, the method further when a user specifies to automatically pay invoices of a specified healthcare provider, the method after a specified invoice for the specified healthcare provider is received, directs that payment for the amount due of the specified invoice be transferred from an account of the user to an account of the specified healthcare provider. The method then notifies the specified healthcare provider of the payment.
In some embodiments, one or more computing systems of a healthcare payment aggregation service are provided for providing a user experience for payment of healthcare providers that are not affiliated with each other for invoicing purposes. The one or more computing systems include one or more computer-readable storage mediums storing computer-executable instructions and one or more processors for executing the computer-executable instructions stored in the one or more computer-readable storage mediums. The instructions control the one or more computing systems to display to a user a dashboard display page that identifies one or more pending invoices for different healthcare providers, that identifies recent payments to different healthcare providers whose invoices are handled by separate invoicing systems, and that provides payment statistics. The instructions control the one or more computing systems to display to the user an invoices pending display page through which the user can review pending invoices including invoices from different healthcare providers and pay an invoice. The instructions control the one or more computing systems to display to the user a healthcare providers display page through which the user can review authorized healthcare providers for which the user has authorized the healthcare aggregation service to receive invoices of the user and through which the user can authorize and de-authorized healthcare providers. In some embodiments, the computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to receive a selection of an invoice and coordinate payment of the invoice. In some embodiments, the computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to upon receiving a selection of an invoice, automatically paying the invoice based on previously stored payment information. In some embodiments, the computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to display a display page through which the user can designate a healthcare provider whose invoice information for the user is to be sent to the healthcare payment aggregation service.
In some embodiments, one or more computing systems that provide a healthcare payment aggregation service are provided. The one or more computing systems include one or more computer-readable storage mediums storing computer-executable instructions and one or more processors for executing the computer-executable instructions stored in the one or more computer-readable storage mediums. The computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to receive invoice information sent from different healthcare provider computer systems of different healthcare providers. The invoice information includes invoices that each identifies a healthcare provider, a patient and an amount due. The invoice information of at least two healthcare providers are not provided by the same computer system. The computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to identify invoices received from multiple healthcare provider computer systems that identify the user as the patient. The computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to receive from the user an instruction to pay the amount due of invoices. The computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to direct that payment for the amount due of an identified invoice be transferred from an account of the user to an account of the healthcare provider of the identified invoice. The computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to notify the healthcare provider of the identified invoice of the payment. In some embodiments, the computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to display an indication of the identified invoice and receive from the user an indication to pay the invoice. In some embodiments, the computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to automatically direct payment based on receiving the identified invoice. In some embodiments, the computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to receive from another user a request to pay a patient-provided invoice that has not been received from a specified healthcare provider by the healthcare payment aggregation service. The request identifies a payment amount and the specified healthcare provider. The computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to direct that payment for the payment amount due be transferred from an account of the other user to an account of the specified healthcare provider. The computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to notify the specified healthcare provider of the payment for the patient-provided invoice. In some embodiments, the request to pay the patient-provided invoice identifies the specified healthcare provider, and the notifying of the specified healthcare provider identifies the patient-provided invoice. In some embodiments, each invoice includes an invoice identifier, and the notifying includes providing the invoice identifier of the identified invoice to the healthcare provider. In some embodiments, the computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to send electronic notifications to patients to inform the patients when invoices are received. In some embodiments, the computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to send electronic notifications of invoices followed by paper notifications while an invoice is not paid. In some embodiments, the computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems establish a notification plan of sending electronic notification and paper notifications based on a history of a patient in responding to notifications. In some embodiments, the computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to learn the payment pattern of a patient based on applying different notification plans. In some embodiments, the notification plan is established based on history of a patient in responding to notifications of different healthcare providers.
In some embodiments, a method performed by one or more computing systems of a service payment aggregation service is provided. The method receives invoice information sent from a plurality of service providers. The service providers that separately create invoices their service recipients. The invoice information includes invoices that each identifies a service recipient and an amount due. The method receives a request from a user to access their invoices. The method identifies invoices received from multiple service providers that identify the user as the service recipient. The method displays an indication of the service provider and amount due of one or more the identified invoices. The method receives from the user an instruction to pay the amount due of a designated invoice of the displayed invoices. The method directs that payment for the amount due of the designated invoice be transferred from an account of the user to an account of the service provider of the designated invoice. The method notifies the service provider of the designated invoice of the payment. In some embodiments, the method receives from another user a request to pay a service recipient-provided invoice that has not been received from a specified service provider by the service payment aggregation service. The request identifies a payment amount and the specified service provider. The method directs that payment for the payment amount due be transferred from an account of the other user to an account of the specified service provider. The method notifies the specified service provider of the payment for the service recipient-provided invoice. In some embodiments, the request to pay the service recipient-provided invoice identifies the specified service provider, and the notifying of the specified service provider identifies the service recipient-provided invoice. In some embodiments, each invoice includes an invoice identifier, and the notifying includes providing the invoice identifier of the designated invoice to the service provider. In some embodiments, the method further when a user specifies to automatically pay invoices of a specified service provider, the method after a specified invoice for the specified service provider is received, directs that payment for the amount due of the specified invoice be transferred from an account of the user to an account of the specified service provider. The method then notifies the specified service provider of the payment.
Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims. Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.

Claims

I/we claim:

1. A method performed by one or more computing systems of a healthcare payment aggregation service, the method comprising:

receiving invoice information sent from a plurality of healthcare providers, the healthcare providers that separately create invoices for their patients, the invoice information including invoices that each identifies a patient and an amount due;

receiving a request from a user to access their invoices;

identifying invoices received from multiple healthcare providers that identify the user as the patient;

displaying an indication of the healthcare provider and amount due of one or more the identified invoices;

receiving from the user an instruction to pay the amount due of a designated invoice of the displayed invoices;

directing that payment for the amount due of the designated invoice be transferred from an account of the user to an account of the healthcare provider of the designated invoice; and

notifying the healthcare provider of the designated invoice of the payment.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving from another user a request to pay a patient-provided invoice that has not been received from a specified healthcare provider by the healthcare payment aggregation service, the request identifying a payment amount and the specified healthcare provider;

directing that payment for the payment amount due be transferred from an account of the other user to an account of the specified healthcare provider; and

notifying the specified healthcare provider of the payment for the patient-provided invoice.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the request to pay the patient-provided invoice identifies the specified healthcare provider and wherein the notifying of the specified healthcare provider identifies the patient-provided invoice.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein each invoice includes an invoice identifier and the notifying includes providing the invoice identifier of the designated invoice to the healthcare provider.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising when a user specifies to automatically pay invoices of a specified healthcare provider,

after a specified invoice for the specified healthcare provider is received, directing that payment for the amount due of the specified invoice be transferred from an account of the user to an account of the specified healthcare provider; and

notifying the specified healthcare provider of the payment.

6. One or more computing systems of a healthcare payment aggregation service for providing a user experience for payment of healthcare providers that are not affiliated with each other for invoicing purposes, the one or more computing systems comprising:

one or more computer-readable storage mediums storing computer-executable instructions for controlling the one or more computing systems to:

display to a user a dashboard display page that identifies one or more pending invoices for different healthcare providers, that identifies recent payments to different healthcare providers whose invoices are handled by separate invoicing systems, and that provides payment statistics;

display to the user an invoices pending display page through which the user can review all pending invoices including invoices from different healthcare providers and pay an invoice; and

display to the user a healthcare providers display page through which the user can review authorized healthcare providers for which the user has authorized the healthcare aggregation service to receive invoices of the user and through which the user can authorize and de-authorized healthcare providers; and

one or more processors for executing the computer-executable instructions stored in the one or more computer-readable storage mediums.

7. The one or more computing systems of claim 6 wherein the computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to receive a selection of an invoice and coordinate payment of the invoice.

8. The one or more computing systems of claim 7 wherein the computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to upon receiving a selection of an invoice, automatically paying the invoice based on previously stored payment information.

9. The one or more computing systems of claim 6 wherein the computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to display a display page through which the user can designate a healthcare provider whose invoice information for the user is to be sent to the healthcare payment aggregation service.

10. One or more computing systems that provide a healthcare payment aggregation service, the one or more computing system comprising:

one or more computer-readable storage mediums for storing computer-executable instructions for controlling the one or more computing systems to:

receive invoice information sent from different healthcare provider computer systems of different healthcare providers, the invoice information including invoices that each identifies a healthcare provider, a patient and an amount due, wherein the invoice information of at least two healthcare providers are not provided by the same computer system;

identify invoices received from multiple healthcare provider computer systems that identify the user as the patient;

receive from the user an instruction to pay the amount due of invoices;

direct that payment for the amount due of an identified invoice be transferred from an account of the user to an account of the healthcare provider of the identified invoice; and

notify the healthcare provider of the identified invoice of the payment; and

11. The one or more computing systems of claim 10 wherein the computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to display an indication of the identified invoice and receive from the user an indication to pay the invoice.

12. The one or more computing systems of claim 10 wherein the computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to automatically direct payment based on receiving the identified invoice.

13. The one or more computing systems of claim 10 wherein the computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to:

receive from another user a request to pay a patient-provided invoice that has not been received from a specified healthcare provider by the healthcare payment aggregation service, the request identifying a payment amount and the specified healthcare provider;

direct that payment for the payment amount due be transferred from an account of the other user to an account of the specified healthcare provider; and

notify the specified healthcare provider of the payment for the patient-provided invoice.

14. The one or more computing systems of claim 13 wherein the request to pay the patient-provided invoice identifies the specified healthcare provider and wherein the notifying of the specified healthcare provider identifies the patient-provided invoice.

15. The one or more computing systems of claim 10 wherein each invoice includes an invoice identifier and the notifying includes providing the invoice identifier of the identified invoice to the healthcare provider.

16. The one or more computing systems of claim 10 wherein the computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to send electronic notifications to patients to inform the patients when invoices are received.

17. The one or more computing systems of claim 10 wherein the computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to send electronic notifications of invoices followed by paper notifications while an invoice is not paid.

18. The one or more computing systems of claim 17 wherein the computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems establish a notification plan of sending electronic notification and paper notifications based on a history of a patient in responding to notifications.

19. The one or more computing systems of claim 18 wherein the computer-executable instructions further control the one or more computing systems to learn the payment pattern of a patient based on applying different notification plans.

20. The one or more computing systems of claim 17 wherein the notification plan is established based on history of a patient in responding to notifications of different healthcare providers.