Simplifying Health Care Paperwork
One way to make sure that doctors and nurses are spending their time on patients and not on paperwork is to simplify the administrative process and to require that health care providers use a single standardized administrative format. In 2008, the Minnesota state legislature passed a law requiring all health care providers and payers to exchange health care administrative transactions electronically, and to use a single standardized format. Estimates show this legislation saves the state's health care system more than $60 million per year. Inspired by that Minnesota law, Senator Franken helped to secure a provision in the Affordable Care Act that cuts down on wasteful administration with a unified standard for billing and claims information that will save money nationwide, including in Minnesota.
