Medagate Rolls Out ‘Dual-Network’ Healthcare Card (Jan. 14, 2013)
Jan. 14, 2013
Restricted-spend healthcare payment provider Medagate, a wholly owned subsidiary of InComm, has announced the launch of what the company calls the first dual-network healthcare spending card. The MasterCard-branded Dual Value Health Card enables employers and health plans to offer members a healthcare funding account, such as a health savings account (HSA) or flexible spending account (FSA), along with a restricted-spend card for specific items and incentives. For instance, account administrators can designate certain items, such as flu shots, for purchase with the card. Retailers, meanwhile, can offer real-time coupons and promotions to specific populations through the card, such as allergy sufferers on the first day of hay fever season.
With the new product, Medagate is looking to capitalize on the growing popularity of HSAs. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 19 percent of U.S. workers with healthcare coverage are enrolled in a plan with a savings account option. The Dual Value card will “play an important role in the future of wellness initiatives while driving additional foot traffic to our retail partners’ store locations,” said Brooks Smith, president and CEO of InComm, as well as “[help] change how benefit administrators engage and reward their members.”
In February 2012, San Francisco-based Medagate was acquired by technology company and prepaid distributor InComm. The acquisition followed a partnership to develop Paybefore Award-winning “mini-acceptance networks” for health care-related prepaid card programs. Medagate’s restricted-spend platform is currently integrated at 35,000 retail locations through the U.S.
