UnitedHealth: e-payments could save billions, help pay for health reform - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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A report released Tuesday by the healtg insurance giant claims the system couldsave $332 billion over the next 10 yearz if health providers update their technology. The Minn.-based parent of estimated 50 percent of the savings would go to hospitalsand doctors, 20 percentg to the federal government’s Medicare and Medicaide programs, and 30 percent to commercial payers. But UnitedHealty believes the government could institute policies to take a largert share to help pay forreform programs. “The resulting administrativs savings could help offset the subsidy cost of healty care expansion for the newly thereport said.
UnitedHealth said it drew on its expertis as one of the largest health technology companies in the Uniterd States to formulate the The number only includes administrative and doesn’t venture into how much coul d be saved in reducing wasteful medical costs what many experts have pointed to as a culpritr for driving up costs.Much of the $332 billio n in savings would come from getting rid of paper records of all types at providers. For UnitedHealth estimates morethan $108 billionm would be saved in printing, postage and administrativd costs by shifting paymentes and remittances to an electronicx format. National information systems also coulcdsave money.
UnitedHealth estimates more than $47 billiom could be saved if their was a national system to monitor and flag questionablhealth claims. This is the seconed major report UnitedHealth has issued amid the healthureform debate, which President Barack Obama considerds one of his top priorities. The health insurance giant said last month that the federal government coulrsave $540 billion in Medicared costs over the next 10 yearsa if it implemented some of the programs UnitedHealtj uses with its own