‘Tap to claim’ healthcare available on iPhone

Digital nib member cards are now available in Apple Wallet, allowing members to make a claim by simply holding their iPhone or Apple Watch near any Health Industry Claims And Payment Service (HICAPS) terminal in Australia.

Group Chief Information Officer for nib, Brendan Mills, said it has introduced the new concept because members have been increasingly choosing to interact with the health insurer digitally.

Digital membership healthcare cards are a no-brainer

“We’re seeing more and more members using technology to connect with us, whether that’s submitting a claim or asking a question about their policy so making our membership cards available in a digital format was a no brainer,” Mills said.

“Now they can have their member card handy wherever they go, making it even easier for them to claim by removing the need to upload receipts or send claims forms to us via mail,” he added.

Members can add their member card to Apple Wallet on iPhone and Apple Watch through the nib app by logging in and selecting My nib card. Undoubtedly, this move by nib will not be the only one by an insurer trying to make claims simpler for their domestic and international health insurance customers. As the move towards acceptance of digital healthcare delivery and claims systems continues to push the industry forward, insurers need to be agile and ready to adopt new technologies.

The Australian company is keen to highlight, however, that security and privacy aren’t compromised by doing things digitally as Apple doesn’t receive any information about the health insurance claim. When customers add a health insurance membership card to Apple Wallet, the customer identifier number is encrypted during transmission to the terminal and is then only decrypted by HICAPS and then passed on to the customer’s health insurer.

Meanwhile, nib has appointed Peter Harmer as an independent non-executive Director of the nib board following Chairman Steve Crane’s retirement.