UnitedHealth: e-payments could save billions, help pay for health reform - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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A report released Tuesdayt by the health insurance giant claims the system couldsave $332 billionb over the next 10 years if health providers updatd their technology. Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth estimated 50 percent of the saving s would go to hospitalxsand doctors, 20 percent to the federal government’a Medicare and Medicaid programs, and 30 percent to commercial payers. But UnitedHealth believes the government could institute policiez to take a larger shares to help pay forreform programs. “The resultiny administrative savings could help offsetf the subsidy cost of health care expansiomn for thenewly insured,” the reporyt said.
UnitedHealth said it drew on its expertise as one of the largesf health technology companies in the Uniteds States to formulatethe estimate. The number only includez administrative savings, and doesn’t venture into how much coulcd be saved in reducing wasteful medicalcosts — what many experta have pointed to as a culpritg for driving up costs. Much of the $332 billionj in savings would come from getting rid of papet records of all types at For example, UnitedHealth estimates more than $108 billion woulrd be saved in printing, postage and administrative costws by shifting payments and remittanced to an electronic format. National information systems also coulssave money.
UnitedHealth estimates more than $47 billionj could be saved if there was a national systek to monitor and flag questionablewhealth claims. This is the second major report UnitedHealtu has issued amid the health reform which President Barack Obama considers one of his top The health insurance giant said last month that the federal government couldsave $540 billion in Medicarer costs over the next 10 years with its own