Craneware, Inc., the healthcare market leader in automated value cycle solutions, today announced an exclusive partnership with automated payment technologies and services company VestaCare, Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, Craneware will be offering unique patient engagement solutions to accelerate and simplify payment of patient financial obligations.

This addition of VestaCare's VestaPay technology to medical necessity and price estimation solutions delivered by Craneware's mobile patient engagement platform will help providers better address the financial risks associated with the quickly-changing role of patient financial responsibility in the era of the value cycle. By integrating with providers' patient financial systems to dynamically adjust patients' outstanding balances, providers can offer patients a compassionate, flexible program to address patient responsibility. In addition, providers benefit from improved patient satisfaction, better pricing transparency and accelerated revenue.

These new solutions will be integrated as part of Craneware's extensive offerings across four product families: Patient Engagement, Charge Capture & Pricing, Coding Integrity, and Revenue Recovery & Retention.

Keith Neilson, CEO of Craneware, commented, "Patients and providers alike are struggling with the rise of high-deductible health plans and increasing patient financial responsibility. These new offerings will help us continue to enable healthcare providers to improve margins and provide a compassionate solution to what is often the most painful part of a patient's experience: the cost."

"With the rising number of hospital failures affecting all of our communities, it is critical that VestaPay's ability to help turn around hospital financials becomes known immediately," said Tom Brekka, CEO of VestaCare. "Leveraging Craneware's reputation and large market presence with VestaCare's VestaPay solution will accelerate our joint efforts in improving providers' financial health so they can in turn continue to support their communities' health."