(Updates with additional details from UnitedHealth officials)
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- One of the nation's largest health insurers issued a report Tuesday suggesting the U.S. health sector could reduce costs by $332 billion through reduced paperwork and administrative costs.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH), a Minneapolis managed-care company, released a similar study in late May outlining ways the federal government could shed $540 billion in future medical costs over 10 years. The company is seeking to demonstrate how insurers and the federal government can rein in spiraling medical costs through practical means.
The report released Tuesday includes a number of proposed ways to lower administrative costs, including a new electronic system by which physicians can submit claims to insurance companies. The new system could save $108.6 billion over 10 years, according to the report.
Another proposed option would scrap "explanations of benefits," which are sent to patients after doctors' visits, in favor of health statements available online each month. The report also urges the use of "swipe cards," which doctors and hospitals could use to find out a patient's eligibility for health benefits.
UnitedHealth already has 30 million of the cards in circulation, but the cards aren't yet used widely by health-care providers.
UnitedHealth Group Executive Vice President Simon Stevens said Tuesday that the report is intended to put "some flesh on the bones" of health overhaul proposals being debated in Congress.
As a whole, the health insurance industry - led by the America's Health Insurance Plans trade group - has ramped up efforts to improve practices among its own ranks. The industry is attempting to fend off congressional proposals to create a government-run health insurance option to compete with private insurers, however.
UnitedHealth officials said Tuesday that many of the changes they seek could be put in place by insurers through public-private partnerships, but that the federal government might need to nudge them into adopting new standards.
"You only really get the benefits when the technologies and the processes are being used right across the system," said Stevens.
The executive said that cost savings for several of the report's proposals are predicated upon their adoption by 85% to 90% of the industry.
The report suggests that health-care providers would see 50% of the savings, the federal government would see 20% of the savings through Medicare and Medicaid, and commercial purchasers of health insurance would see 30% of the savings.
