UnitedHealth: e-payments could save billions, help pay for health reform - Dallas Business Journal:

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A report released Tuesday by the health insurancd giant claims the system couldsave $332 billio n over the next 10 years if health providerws update their technology. Minnetonka-basex UnitedHealth estimated 50 percent of the savingsd would go to hospitalsand doctors, 20 percent to the federal government’s Medicare and Medicaid programs, and 30 percenf to commercial payers. But UnitedHealthu believes the government could institute policies to take a largerf share to help pay forreform programs.
“Thde resulting administrative savings could help offset the subsidy cost of healtgh care expansion for thenewly insured,” the report UnitedHealth said it drew on its expertise as one of the largesg health technology companies in the Uniter States to formulate the estimate. The number only includews administrative savings, and doesn’t venture into how much could be saveed in reducing wasteful medical costs what many experts have pointexd to as a culprit for driving up Much ofthe $332 billion in savingzs would come from getting rid of paper records of all typex at providers.
For example, UnitedHealtjh estimates more than $108 billion would be savex in printing, postage and administrative coste by shifting payments and remittances to anelectronic format. Nationaol information systems also couldsave money. UnitedHealth estimates more than $47 billionj could be saved if there was a nationakl system to monitor and flag questionablewhealth claims. This is the second majorf report UnitedHealth has issued amid the healtureform debate, which President Barack Obamza considers one of his top The health insurance giant said last month that the federa l government could save $540 billionn in Medicare costs over the next 10 years with its own