Health plans have launched an initiative to streamline the delivery of care by reducing the time, effort and expense for the paperwork required for each patient office visit.
The initiative, designed to simplify information flow between health plans, doctors’ offices and hospitals, is comparable to what ATMs have done for banks and consumers, according to America’s Health Insurance Plans.
AHIP and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association are sponsoring regional and statewide initiatives to assess how best to offer physicians access to multiple insurers through the same information channel – such as a Web portal – in a given region of the country for the purpose of conducting key office tasks.
Savings are estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars as the entire healthcare system achieves efficiencies through similar moves to automation and consistent business practices.
The initiative is being led by local health plans representing greater than 95 percent of state residents with private health insurance and major statewide physician organizations.
Participating health plans are Aetna, AmeriHealth New Jersey, CIGNA, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and UnitedHealthcare.
Physician organizations that are collaborating on the project are the Medical Society of New Jersey, New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians, New Jersey Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons, New Jersey Medical Group Management Association and Partners in Care.
According to officials, the effort addresses the need for one-stop service in electronic transactions for which physicians have advocated. It is designed to replace a cumbersome system in which physician office and hospital staff spend considerable time and expense accessing multiple channels to get information to complete basic requirements for confirming eligibility, billing and referrals.
While the first year constitutes a pilot that will incorporate user feedback and the opportunity for adjustments, the initiative is designed to be permanent. The goal is to develop regional services that span the entire country
“This new tool will allow our physician practices to check patient eligibility, deductible amounts and other critical benefit information from one source,” said Michael T. Kornett, chief executive officer of the Medical Society of New Jersey. “We are pleased to support a project aimed at reducing the administrative hassles and costs of providing healthcare in New Jersey.”