New Zealand’s HealthNow Buys Prescription Platform CoverUs, Plans Payment App

HealthNow, a New Zealand company focused on healthcare affordability, has bought CoverUS, a digital prescription discount platform, a press release said.

The companies will debut the CoverUS Payments App in the third quarter of this year.

That app will help Americans pay for needed health care and will build a mobile-first marketplace of health providers and merchants.

The app will let Americans spread out payments for health care services and products for up to 12 weeks. This will help them visit the doctor, fill prescriptions and access other health services.

It will also help consumers discover participating medical providers, thus helping medical practices.

“Nearly one-third of U.S. adults skipped needed medical care in 2021 due to cost, which threatens lives and costs the economy billions,” said Steven Zinsli, CEO of HealthNow US, Inc. “Our payment app has helped so many New Zealanders afford care, and we now lead the market there. Combined with CoverUS’ prescription discount and patient data platform, we’ll help Americans to get the care they need when they need it. Money should not be a barrier to being healthy in today’s world.”

See also: With Lower Costs and Better Outcomes, Contactless Health Solutions Get Second Look

PYMNTS wrote that the shift to contactless payments has been a boon for some industries, and this can be seen in healthcare as well, according to Thomas Grellner, CEO at German MedTech startup Smedo.

He said patients in intensive care units are currently monitored by numerous devices to record heart activity, and they can be very expensive. Replacing them with an affordable contactless device from Smedo could cut down on high costs and translate into less hours for the overworked staff.

It will also be able to detect fatal cardiac events and other medical emergencies.

“If we see that the signal is not picking up on any signs because the patient’s heart is not beating or they are not breathing anymore, we can immediately sound the alarm and send that information to the medical team directly,” Grellner explained.