Health insurers are counting on
technology to reduce the
claims-processing errors that cost
billions of dollars and frustrate
patients and physicians.
AutomAted
Processing
Pays OFF
For many health insurers, enhancement of the claims process is overdue. Ac- cording to the American Medical Association’s (AMA) fourth annual National Health Insurer Report Card released in 2011, the overall rate of inaccurate claims payments increased from the previous year among leading commercial health insurers. Claims-processing errors by health insurance firms cost billions of dollars and frustrate patients and physicians, the AMA says. The report findings show that commercial health insurers had an average claims-processing error rate of 19. 3 percent, an increase of 2 percent compared with the prior year. The increase in overall inaccuracy represented
an extra $3.6 million in erroneous claims payments, and added an
estimated $1.5 billion in unnecessary administrative costs to the
health system. The AMA estimates that eliminating health insurer
claims payment errors would save $17 billion.
By
Bob Violino
