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In the United States we have multiple commercial health insurers, each with their own rules regarding filing and documenting claims for payment.

Medicare and Medicaid have their own rules and both of those programs rely heavily on insurers who impose their own rules. All this adds up to is significant burden on health care providers who rely upon staff and technology to navigate this complex system.

While there are various estimates, all told administrative costs account for at least a few hundred billion dollars of health care spending each year. This figure is much lower in other countries.

Barak Richman from Duke University joins A Health Podyssey to discuss how insurance-related health spending in the United States compares to that in other countries.

Richman and coauthors published a paper in the August issue of Health Affairs comparing administrative spending in five countries with spending in the United States. In the paper, they provide insights for reasons for the differences.

Order the August 2022 issue of Health Affairs.

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Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.