Paytient Recognized on Fast Company's Next Big Things in Tech List

The annual list honors groundbreaking technologies with the potential to reshape industries and redefine the way we work and live

COLUMBIA, Mo., Oct. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Paytient, the leader in employer-sponsored healthcare payment solutions, today announced it has been named to Fast Company's Next Big Things in Tech, an annual list recognizing breakthrough technologies with the potential to transform industries and shape the future. Paytient was selected in the Health and Medicine Category for building the Healthcare Payability Platform — technology they purpose-built to give employers and health plans a new lever for managing healthcare spend. That lever: the ability to redesign benefit structures around the confidence that every employee can pay for care when they need it.

The recognition from Fast Company reflects growing urgency among employers and plan sponsors: healthcare costs are projected to rise 8% in 2027 even after plan changes. Paytient layers onto any plan design, giving plan sponsors a way to navigate that pressure and lower costs by moving to lower-premium plan designs that also genuinely improve employees' ability to afford and access care. The company has put over $2 billion in healthcare purchasing power into the hands of nearly 2 million lives across employer-sponsored plans and ACA markets, and nearly $50 billion of purchasing power into the hands of 24 million Medicare beneficiaries. Pairing smarter plan design with payability infrastructure gives employees the confidence to pay for care when they need it.

The company currently powers the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. Since its January 2025 launch, Medicare insurers have white-labeled Paytient's payment platform as a plan-embedded, plan-funded option for deductible spending — cost-effectively improving affordability without removing cost-share responsibility — a bipartisan, pragmatic improvement that lowers the cost of insuring care. Medicare beneficiaries who opt into the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan have a better healthcare consumer experience and are less likely to be hospitalized due to medication non-adherence. Paytient is a standard feature of Medicare Part D coverage, validating the company's technology as crucial infrastructure — and has earned an 84 Net Promoter Score and a 4.9/5 rating on TrustPilot across more than 5,000 member reviews.

"Insurance is a product for what people can't predict or afford — rare risk that leads to catastrophic claims. But, somewhere along the way, we've forced, and expected, third-parties to pay for everything, and that's one of the reasons why premiums have expanded to include all that we expect it to cover. The smarter design is to insure against catastrophe, while ensuring patients can successfully manage their predictable healthcare encounters and associated out-of-pocket costs," said Brian Whorley, Founder and CEO of Paytient. "When patients are able to easily pay providers a transparent cash price — immune to upcoding and AI repricing — in full at time of service, it reduces the role third-parties and their repricers play in how healthcare is priced and paid. We built Paytient to empower consumers and deflate healthcare, and this award is recognition of the urgency of this moment. This January, we'll launch hundreds of employers — renewing relationships and welcoming new ones — who want to keep their current plan today, but are ready to think differently about tomorrow."

Fast Company's Next Big Things in Tech recognizes innovative technologies developed by established companies, startups, and research teams that are making meaningful progress toward transforming the lives of consumers, businesses, and society. This year's honorees span industries, with each innovation demonstrating the potential to create significant impact in the years ahead.

"The most exciting technology innovations are the ones that move beyond promise to demonstrate real potential for impact," said Brendan Vaughan, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. "The companies and teams recognized on this year's list are tackling ambitious problems with new ideas, products, and approaches that have the potential to fundamentally shape the years ahead."

For more information or to view the complete Fast Company 2026 Next Big Things in Tech list, visit here.

About Paytient
Paytient is the leader in innovative healthcare payment solutions. In building the Healthcare Payability Platform, Paytient makes it easier for every employee to pay for and save on their out-of-pocket healthcare in every moment care is needed. To date, the company has put over $2 billion in purchasing power into the hands of nearly 2 million lives across employer-sponsored plans and ACA markets, and nearly $50 billion of purchasing power into the hands of 24 million Medicare beneficiaries. By ensuring every employee can pay for their share of care at the moment they need it, Paytient delivers better outcomes and lower costs. To learn more, visit www.paytient.com and join us on LinkedIn.

About Fast Company
Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow business publication Inc. For more information, please visit fastcompany.com.

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SOURCE Paytient Technologies