How UTMB Expanded Patient Financing Options and Increased Collections by 25% with PayZen
By partnering with PayZen, UTMB enhanced patient access and experience while achieving outstanding results.
About the Provider
The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB Health) is a 138-year-old leading academic and medical center with four campuses dedicated to delivering high-quality care to patients across Texas. It is a large provider with over $1.3B NPR. Like many healthcare providers, UTMB sought to optimize revenue while maintaining its commitment to accessible, patient-centered care.
The Provider’s Challenge
In the wake of the pandemic, UTMB faced mounting self-pay balances and rising bad debt, placing financial strain on both the organization and its patients. Recognizing the positive impact of pre-service collections on revenue, UTMB implemented a pre-service payment policy when estimates were issued. However, a key challenge remained: many patients urgently needed procedures but were unable to pay the required pre-service amount before receiving care.
On the post-service side, UTMB’s in-house payment plans effectively managed smaller balances, but they lacked the ability to support patients with higher balances that needed more flexibility and longer terms for repayment. As a result, UTMB struggled with growing self-pay balances and an increase in bad debt, underscoring the need for a more adaptable patient financing solution.
UTMB issued an RFP to multiple patient financing providers searching for a partner that could seamlessly complement their in-house payment plans while enhancing both pre-service and post-service collections. Its key criteria included:
PayZen’s Solution
Integrated Payment Options for the Entire Patient Journey
PayZen was selected as UTMB’s preferred partner after successfully meeting the provider’s requirements in the RFP. Through this partnership, UTMB introduced innovative patient financing solutions to improve affordability and provider collections.
Care Card
The PayZen Care Card provides a seamless pre-procedure financing solution, allowing UTMB to implement an effective pre-service payment policy without restricting access to care. With guaranteed approval for every patient and a zero-percent interest rate, the Care Card ensures affordability for patients while strengthening UTMB’s pre-service collections.
Post-Care Payment Plans
Driven by PayZen’s unique AI platform, PayZen analyzes thousands of data points—such as a patient’s financial circumstances, financial behavior, and payment history—to create personalized, interest-free payment plans that fit each patient’s monthly budget. PayZen’s long-term payment plans served as a complement and an additional offering to UTMB’s in-house financing for patients.
These solutions seamlessly integrated into UTMB’s Epic workflow, enabling patients to:
Key Results
With approximately 22,000 plans originated through PayZen, UTMB analyzed 48 months of data and conducted a year-over-year analysis of their collections (both pre- and post-service) and payment plan utilization accounting for seasonality. The results were significant:
The Provider’s Perspective
Working with PayZen has been transformative. Their patient-centered payment solutions allowed us to grow collections while maintaining our commitment to accessible care. It’s a partnership that truly delivers value for both UTMB and our patients.
The Patients’ Perspective
71.1 PayZen’s NPS Score among UTMB’s patients (Industry Average 45)
I had only a few weeks left to live. I needed that pacemaker replacement, but $1,800 was not something I could afford to pay at the time. A nurse in my health system told me about PayZen, and they immediately took care of me to make the healthcare affordable. I wouldn’t be sitting here today, having this conversation if it wasn’t for PayZen. I owe my life, and my quality of life, to them.
We’ve actually received really positive feedback from our patients when they are able to utilize the PayZen option.
Why It Matters
UTMB’s success story proves that healthcare providers can achieve both improved collections and have an exceptional patient experience. By leveraging the right patient financing tool, providers can increase overall plan participation without cannibalizing their existing internal plans, ensuring financial health for their organization and patients.