Revolutionising the traditional pay-and-claim process for everyday healthcare costs

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Changing the picture: AXA’s unique insurance product, the healthcare payment card, debuted this year (AXA - Global Healthcare)

AXA Global Healthcare is a Business Reporter client

How a new “tap-and-go” health insurance payment card is upgrading the customer experience.

Fintech is no longer a boardroom buzzword, but a driving force behind a new wave of financial accessibility and efficiency. As the meteoric rise in digital innovation continues to challenge traditional models and reshape the territories of consumer empowerment, the industry waits with bated breath for what’s coming next. Ripe for disruption is the health insurance space, but where is it having its moment?

International private medical insurance provider AXA - Global Healthcare is answering that question. Its unique insurance product, the healthcare payment card, debuted on the global market earlier this year to resolve several pain points experienced by members.

Research¹ found that AXA - Global Healthcare customers submit a substantial amount of low-value, self-pay claims every year. Yet they dislike having to pay out-of-pocket for these everyday healthcare costs and would rather do away with the cumbersome claims administration too.

Combining this insight with its customer-centric approach to innovation, AXA - Global Healthcare has designed the healthcare payment to remodel the traditional pay-and-claim experience for thousands of members worldwide.

With unmatched flexibility, convenience and speed, the card enables members to pay for eligible outpatient treatment and prescriptions instantly, rather than dipping into their own funds and later retrieving them via a lengthier claim process. Once uploaded to their Google or Apple wallet, members can use their digital card at any healthcare provider worldwide within the VISA network without pre-authorising, pre-paying or pre-loading funds. It’s as simple and liberating as the everyday contactless tap-and-go card payments we’re all used to.

The digital card launches with a dedicated companion app, which seamlessly completes the claims lifecycle for members. Following payment for their outpatient treatment, all members need to do is upload a photo of their provider invoice to the app within 48 hours. There are no time-consuming claims forms or paperwork to complete.

For what’s widely considered a complex and intricate industry, innovation of this kind could set private health insurance on a new trajectory towards improved consumer accessibility and understanding. Global or local, health insurance has long been a complex and often frustrating system for consumers to navigate. With intricate policy and underwriting terms, and long claims processes, understanding coverage and accessing benefits can be overwhelming. But by combining the latest advances in fintech and insurtech with its experience and expertise, AXA - Global Healthcare is challenging industry preconceptions and simplifying obstacles for consumers.

Notably, these initiatives are delivering positive outcomes for vulnerable customers by improving access to medical care. According to recent user feedback on the healthcare payment card², the conventional pay-and-claim process has prevented several members from seeing a doctor because of the upfront costs involved. In contrast, customers now say their new card gives them the means to be more proactive with their day-to-day health. AXA - Global Healthcare is setting an example of how customer care can and must be knitted into innovation within the industry.

“By listening to our customers and innovating to resolve their challenges, our aim is to retain, strengthen and build customer relationships through our reputation of providing seamless, straightforward insurance products for global lives,” says Andy Edwards, Managing Director at AXA - Global Healthcare. “The roll-out of the healthcare payment card is just the first step on our digital transformation journey. We’re actively working on providing our members with a suite of other digital services from which they can access and manage their international healthcare insurance policy.”

Ambition is high, and the vision is clear. AXA - Global Healthcare is ready to revolutionise international health insurance for its customers. The future will see the launch of more exciting products, services and initiatives, together providing enhanced policy management and simpler access to healthcare with customers unquestionably at the core.

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To hear more and keep up with future innovations and developments at AXA - Global Healthcare, visit: www.axaglobalhealthcare.com.

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The healthcare payment card from AXA is issued by Nium Fintech Limited pursuant to a licence by Visa Europe. Nium Fintech Limited is a company registered in England with company number 09039850, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as an Electronic Money Institution (Firm Reference Number: 901024.) The AXA - Global Healthcare Card app is provided by Paysure.

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1. Research commissioned by AXA - Global Healthcare and conducted by Ninety, an independent research agency, in March 2023. Research was conducted with AXA - Global Healthcare customers.

2. Research commissioned by AXA - Global Healthcare and conducted by Prescient Research Ltd from April to July 2024. Research was conducted with AXA - Global Healthcare customers.