Electronic billing is more than a trend, and it may be coming toan insurance line near you, according to a feature in MitchellInternational's latest Industry Trends report.

“Legislative requirements and advances in technology havereached a point where all parties involved seem to want the cost,efficiency and improved accuracy outcomes associated with theelectronic delivery and exchange of healthcareinformation—including eBills,” states the article, written by JasonCarter, Tina Greene and Zack Zackrison.

Aside from federal healthcare regulatory mandates, the Mitchellreport notes that states have also either considered or takenaction on mandating more efficient data exchange in response torising healthcare costs, particularly in workers' compensation.

“As more states contemplate these regulations,” the report says,“providers and [property and casualty] payers are facing atransition to eBilling for medical bills.”

The Mitchell article says over 20 states are actively discussingstandards and requirements for eBilling in workers' comp, autoand/or general healthcare. Eight states have adopted specificlegislation.

Additionally, as providers conform to best practices in thehealthcare space, they will likely extend workflow expectations toother lines such as workers' comp and auto. Mitchell notes theconcept of “meaningful use” is driving technology adoption withinthe provider community that could accelerate the use of eBilling.Quoting the Office of the National Coordinator for HealthInformation Technology, part of HHS, Mitchell explains,“'Meaningful use' is the set of standards defined by the Centersfor Medicare & Medicaid Services Incentive Programs thatgoverns the use of electronic health records and allows eligibleproviders and hospitals to earn incentive payments by meetingspecific criteria.”

For P&C insurers, apart from compliance, eBilling shouldfacilitate better compliance, outcomes and efficiency, Mitchellnotes. “Improved data integrity improves outcomes and efficiencythroughout the bill-review and payment process,” the articlestates.

Mitchell adds, “Faced with an ever-changing horizon of increasedoperational costs and new regulations, P&C carriers shouldexplore all avenues to improve operations and reduce overall costs.eBilling and ePayment solutions are two components that are easilyintegrated with expert medical bill review solutions and provideopportunities for P&C payers to meet their goals of improvedoperational efficiency and reduced costs.”