Hacker News Reader

"Specifically, the company is adding two new features to its product line-up today: iPhone patient payment processing, which allows doctors and staff to process payments using the Square card reader attached to an iPhone or iPod Touch..."

Isn't the whole insurance problem that I'm not the one making the payments, my insurance company is?

View on HN

I had a similar reaction.

I guess this would be for co-pays, or the balance owed for what isn't covered by the insurance company.

Correct. Square is used to pay copays or balances that may remain after insurance payments have been processed (deductibles, denials, etc.).

The main interface allows for the doctor to press one button to easily pay a known copay, or press another button to pay an arbitrary amount. In the screenshot here [1], the patient could pay his $490 balance by pressing the "Payment" button, or the $20 copay by pressing the "Copay" button.

[1] http://d.pr/i/Ulh5

edit: added a bit more detail

Reply on news.ycombinator.com