Patent ID: 7774214

Claim:
A computer system comprising: a processor that executes instructions; and machine-readable media having the instructions stored therein, the instructions when executed by the computer system causing the computer system to implement a health care claim payment method, the method comprising receiving notification of a plurality of claims for a plurality of health care services provided by a plurality of health care service providers to a patient, at least a portion of the claims being payable by a participant enrolled in a benefits plan; maintaining, by a payment services system logic implemented by the instructions stored in the machine-readable media, funds to pay the portion of the claims payable by the participant; remitting, for each claim in the plurality of claims, payment of the claim, including (i) remitting, on behalf of the participant, payment of the portion of the claim payable by the participant, and (ii) accepting risk of delinquency and/or non-payment by the participant on the funds used to pay the portion of the claims payable by the participant; combining, by the payment services system logic, claim information from the plurality of health care service providers into a master bill, the master bill containing claim information for the plurality of health care service providers; itemizing, by the payment services system logic, claim information for each of the health care services provided to the patient by the plurality of health care service providers, and wherein the patient did not directly interact with at least some of the health care service providers; sending the participant the master bill, including the claim information for the plurality of health care service providers; and tracking, by the payment services system logic, payment of the master bill by the participant.