HHS: New rules will save up to $9 billion

The Health and Human Services Department announced new rules Tuesday that it said will help save as much as $9 billion over the next decade.

The new policy is designed to make it easier for doctors and hospitals to accept electronic payments. HHS adopted related standards earlier this year that made it easier for healthcare businesses to transfer money electronically.

HHS said in a statement that the average doctor spends three weeks per year on billing and dealing with insurance companies. By streamlining those processes and making billing more efficient, HHS said, the new rules will save somewhere between $2.7 billion and $9 billion.

“These new rules will cut red tape, save money and ensure doctors spend more time seeing patients and less time filling out forms,” HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement.

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