Newsletter: February 2024 Issue

February 2024 Newsletter

February 2024

Thanks for spending this extra day going around the sun with us. In February, we dove into the 2023 CAQH Index Report and prepared for the CHIE’s migration to a new platform.

One more thing: For our providers experiencing disruptions in their claims management due to the Change cyberattack, we’re here to help. Please contact us to fast track your enrollment with payers at customersuccess@uhin.org.


American Heart Month

In February we recognized Black History Month and American Heart Month. Here are just a couple ways to support and celebrate these causes throughout the entire year:

For health care professionals and clinicians, use the resources in the Center for Disease Control (CDC) heart toolkit to support their patients, especially women, by listening to their heart.

In Utah? Dive into Utah’s rich black history at the Utah Black History Museum! Find the mobile exhibit across Utah this year or consider donating.​


CHIE platform

The new platform empowers CHIE users to better understand patient populations, provide greater care, reduce waste while improving quality, and pinpoint at-risk patients to intervene before their next encounter.

After consulting with our community’s advisory committee, we will be migrating five years of data with the exception of opt out consents, immunizations, allergies, and colonoscopies for which a longer history will be migrated.

Technical implementation is currently underway and we anticipate user migrations will start in Q2 of 2024. We will keep all CHIE users informed of our progress via email.


Copyright CAQH

We published two blog posts sharing our thoughts on the most recent CAQH Index released earlier this month. How did electronic transaction adoption and healthcare administration change in 2023 for both providers and payers? Keep reading to find out.


Our CEO, Brian Chin, recently attended ViVe 2024. Artificial Intelligence was a hot topic this year, as you may have expected. Check out a few photos from the conference here.

Are you going to HIMSS 2024? Let us know what you’re most excited to see while in Orlando next month at communications@uhin.org.


We have online trainings coming up for the new CHIE platform. Please sign up for CHIE updates and our Events notifications to add these to your calendar so you don’t miss a thing!


Do you have something your peers in healthcare and tech just have to know about? An innovative interoperability solution or point of view? Please email us at communications@uhin.org and we’ll include links to our favorite community content each month.

Next month we’ll attend HIMSS 2024 and help to raise awareness of the risks and symptoms of diabetes on American Diabetes Alert Day (March 26). 


2023 CAQH Index Report: Insights for Healthcare Providers

The Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH) released their annual index report earlier this month. Data from the 2023 CAQH index sheds light on electronic administrative transaction adoption rates, areas of waste and cost avoidance, and the impacts of medical staffing shortages. At UHIN, we’ve recognized similar, significant trends through our claims management, specifically in claims submission, claims status inquiry and electronic remittance advice (ERA).

Here are our points of view and takeaways from the 2023 report:

  1. Staffing shortages are a major issue
  2. Electronic adoption increased
  3. Cost and Time spent increased
  4. Collaboration & flexibility are critical
  5. Transaction findings:
    • Claims submission
    • Claims status
    • Eligibility and Benefits
    • ERA

1. Staffing shortages are a major issue

The COVID-19 pandemic strained the healthcare system, which led to significant staffing shortages that continue to impact the industry, especially for providers. The impact of the pandemic is felt most intensely in the time to conduct administrative tasks: 

  • Provider time to conduct transactions increased in 2023, on average, 14 percent which accounted for 77 percent of the increase in total medical spend.
  • For the second consecutive year, time to complete electronic transactions grew. While staffing issues and transaction volumes increased, providers required more time to commit administrative tasks. 

Staffing issues were felt in the hiring process as less experienced staff were onboarded who ”required more time to understand processes and requirements.”

Our MYUHIN billing and claim management solution helps ease the onboarding burden.  An intuitive platform like MYUHIN won’t require hours of training to get the job done. New staff can get started quicker and manage your revenue and cash flow better from the start. Tools like Templates and Drafts reduce the time to submit claims. Everything will just fall into place for you.

2. Adoption increased:

In the “new normal” – as CAQH defines this era – adoption of electronic administrative workflows continued to rise in 2023 on the heels of new processes put in place during the pandemic. Per CAQH: “Automated tasks provided flexibility to staff as work environments changed and adapted to a new normal.” These transactions saw the greatest electronic adoption rate:

  • Remittance advice increased from 83% to 88%
  • Eligibility and benefit verification increased from 90% to 94%
  • Electronic claim status inquiries increased from 72% to 74%
  • Claim submission increased from 97% to 98% (almost reaching full adoption)

We noticed a rise in electronic claims submission this year, as well. MYUHIN delivered its one millionth claim in tandem with the uptick in submission volume. We empower you to accelerate your claim submissions, check coverage and benefits of patients in real time, and facilitate status inquiries from payers. These are all critical components to your revenue and cash flow management. 

3. Cost and Time spent increased:

Per CAQH: “Despite the increase in electronic transactions and decrease in manual ones, overall spending on administrative tasks grew due to persistent staffing challenges impacting the time to conduct tasks.”

  • Provider time to conduct transactions increased 14% (on average), the second year that the time to complete electronic transactions has grown.
  • The amount of time for a provider to submit a claim can take up to 20 minutes for a paper claim and up to 10 minutes for an electronic claim.
  • Spending on claim submissions rose 67 percent to $19 billion 
  • Medical providers reported spending, on average, 24 minutes on manual claim status inquiry, costing approximately $12 per transaction – the highest time and cost among the transactions along with prior authorization.

For providers, you can save time by checking eligibility and submitting claims with MYUHIN. If you want to reduce costs (who doesn’t??), our value pricing makes your decision to switch billing solutions a snap.

“With the data and technologies available to us today, we have the power to transform the way we conduct the business of healthcare. However, as an industry, we must align around consistent processes that enable providers to minimize the time spent learning new workflows. This is particularly important given the current labor shortage.”

Erin Weber, Chief Policy and Research Officer at CAQH (via CAQH)

4. Collaboration and flexibility:

Looking ahead, the CAQH index report notes: “As staffing concerns are expected to continue, the industry needs to work together to identify solutions and best practices for time savings.” Claim submission data was particularly dysfunctional between providers and payers, driving an increase in claim denials in 2023. We all need to work together to address the challenges in the medical industry.

We believe in interoperability for all. Healthcare is complex and challenging. Healthcare silos are ingrained in the industry. Where fragmentation begins, quality of care decreases and costs rise. When UHIN looks at the fragmented nature of healthcare we know we need to act and be a force for change.

5. Let’s dig into the transaction analysis:

Claim submission:

  • $2.1 Billion in cost savings opportunity annually for electronic claim submission 
  • 5 minutes in time savings opportunity per transaction for electronic claim submission for providers

Claims status inquiry:

  • The number of claim status inquiries conducted increased by 19%
  • 17 minutes in estimated time savings opportunity per transaction
  • Medical providers reported spending, on average, 24 minutes conducting a manual claim status inquiry, costing approximately $12 per transaction – the highest time and cost among the transactions along with prior authorization
  • $3.2 Billion in cost savings opportunity annually for the medical industry

Eligibility and benefits:

  • Adoption of the electronic eligibility and benefit verification transaction increased 4 percentage points for the medical industry, one of the largest increases
  • Eligibility and benefit verification represents the highest volume transaction for the medical industry, accounting for 54% of all medical administrative transactions
  • 16 minutes in time savings opportunity annually for electronic eligibility and benefit verification for the medical industry
  • $9.3 Billion in cost savings opportunity annually

Electronic remittance advice:

  • Adoption increased to 88% (the highest increase among the transactions)
  • $701M in cost savings opportunity annually for electronic remittance advice for the medical industry
  • 5 minutes in time savings opportunity annually for electronic remittance advice for the medical industry
Read the full 2023 CAQH Index Report here.

Ready to start reducing administrative costs and time? Get in touch!


Unpacking the CAQH Index Report: Health Plan Optimization Through Electronic Administrative Transactions

The Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH) released their annual index earlier this month. Data from the 2023 CAQH index report sheds light on electronic administrative transaction adoption rates, time savings, cost avoidance, and the need for collaboration. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be felt across sectors, adding to the strain of increasing costs, decreasing cost savings opportunities and increasing time spent on administrative tasks. Yet, there’s still hope. At UHIN, we’ve recognized similarly significant trends in our Clearinghouse transactions and claims management, specifically in claims submission and electronic remittance advice (ERA), and offer solutions that can move health plans to a more positive outcome for themselves and their members.

Our most intriguing takeaways from the 2023 CAQH index report:

  1. Volume increased
  2. Cost avoidance opportunities persist
  3. Collaboration & flexibility will be key moving forward
  4. Certain transactions make a big impact:
    • Claims submission (ASC X12N 837: request to obtain payment or transmission of encounter information for the purpose of reporting delivery of healthcare services)
    • Remittance Advice (ASC X12N 835: an explanation from a health plan to a provider about a claim payment)

1. Volume increased

The index report highlights that electronic transaction volume increased, but for one notable exception, in 2023 (for both payers and providers).

  • Electronic claim submissions increased from 8,751 to 9,476 
  • Claim status inquiry increased from 2,254 to 2,820 
  • Only Electronic remittance advice decreased, moving from 2,499 last year to 2,080 in 2023, marking a 22% decrease

We facilitate each of these transactions and provide other valuable services, like EDI enrollment, to health plans. Since 1993, we’ve empowered our customers to provide better care and better costs to their members. To this day, we remain at the vanguard of electronic data interchange (EDI) and interoperability. Are you ready to learn more about our claims management solutions?

2. Cost avoidance opportunities persist:

Overall, the estimated medical industry spend increased from $55 Billion to more than $82 Billion, driven primarily by staffing shortages coupled with volume increases. In tandem, cost savings opportunities decreased to $16.4 Billion. The report reveals that $89 billion, or 22% of National Healthcare Expenditures in the U.S., is spent on administrative transactions, with potential savings of $18.3 billion through fully electronic transactions. Health plans can still save more than $140 million annually by automating transactions:

Savings opportunities:

  • $104 million with electronic claims submissions 
  • $38 million by moving to electronic remittance advice

It’s important to remember that you don’t need to sacrifice quality when decreasing costs. UHIN provides high quality electronic claims management services at a comparatively low cost. We’ve been doing this for health plans for more than three decades and remain dedicated to our mission: Better costs and better care.

3. Collaboration and flexibility are key:

Looking ahead, the CAQH index report notes that the “industry will need to collaborate and remain flexible in order to identify opportunities and best practices, and respond to emerging and consistent challenges and business needs.”

We couldn’t agree more. Healthcare is complex and challenging. When UHIN looks at the fragmented nature of healthcare we know we need to act and be a force for change. As a central, neutral, community-created organization, we bring together all players in the healthcare environment to create a more connected healthcare system.

“With the data and technologies available to us today, we have the power to transform the way we conduct the business of healthcare. However, as an industry, we must align around consistent processes that enable providers to minimize the time spent learning new workflows. This is particularly important given the current labor shortage.”

Erin Weber, Chief Policy and Research Officer at CAQH (via CAQH)

4. Let’s dig into the transaction analysis:

Claims submission:

  • $2.1 Billion in cost savings opportunity annually for electronic claims submission for providers and payers combined
  • While electronic spend on claims by plans decreased in 2023 (from $576 Million to $517 Million), the total of costs avoided increased (from $4.2 Billion to $5 Billion)

Electronic remittance advice:

  • Adoption increased five percentage points across the medical industry to 88% (the highest increase among the transactions)
  • Medical volume decreased 22 percent
  • $701 Million in cost savings opportunity annually for electronic remittance advice across the medical industry
2023 CAQH index report
Read the full 2023 CAQH Index Report here.

Ready for better costs and better care? Get in touch! 


A New Era for Data Interoperability

The CHIE is moving to a new FHIR®-enabled platform in 2024.

The new platform empowers CHIE users to better understand patient populations, provide greater care, reduce waste while improving quality, and pinpoint at-risk patients to intervene before their next encounter. The enhanced user experience will put data at your fingertips and our FHIR®-native exchange streamlines data sharing while preparing you for future requirements.

After consulting with our community’s advisory committee, we will be migrating five years of data with the exception of opt out consents, immunizations, allergies, and colonoscopies for which a longer history will be migrated. Technical implementation is currently underway and we anticipate user migrations will start in Q2 of 2024. We will keep all CHIE users informed of our progress via email.

CHIE Portal users will see the greatest updates in a modern user interface that offers access to Health Information Exchange (HIE) data through FHIR® standards. Portal users will be able to search and view patient data, and results notifications, as well as waste and quality measures. Users will be able to configure their dashboard to optimize workflows.

Keep reading about the migration, including all the enhancements you can expect here.


Newsletter: January 2024 Issue

January 2024 Newsletter

January 2024

We’re excited to start sending our new newsletter in 2024. Each month we’ll share insights and articles from our in-house experts, HIT news, event announcements, product updates, and more.


We celebrated our 30th anniversary! Thank you to our founders, partners, board of directors, customers, and staff who have supported us for more than three decades.

We enjoyed seeing familiar faces and meeting new friends at the WEDI National Conference, Civitas Annual Conference, Texas and California Association of Health Plans Annual Conferences, AWS re:Invent, Utah Health Association Fall Leadership Conference, and the Utah Medical Association Annual House of Delegates Meeting.

We hosted the 2023 HIT Conference focused on the “Future of Healthcare Interoperability.” 250 attendees joined us in Salt Lake City to hear keynote addresses by Dr. Angela Dunn (Executive Director, Salt Lake County Health Department) and Joy Rios (Founder and CEO of the “HIT Like a Girl” podcast), and attended sessions with thought leaders from UHIN, the University of Utah Health, Select Health, Amazon, One Utah Health Collaborative, KLAS, Canary Speech, Comagine Health, healthKERI, HL7 International, Redstone, Brigham Young University, Shoreline, and Noridian Healthcare Solutions.


MYUHIN crossed one million claims submissions in 2023. Our billing solution empowers thousands of healthcare providers and billers to check eligibility and submit claims from anywhere. Click below to learn about all of MYUHIN’s benefits and predictable pricing.


UHIN’s Falls Risk Indicator ingests non-transport information from Emergency Medical Services (EMS) through the state’s National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS) and uses an algorithm with data points from the patient record to provide a yes/no risk assessment of a patient’s risk of falling in the short term. As a physician using the CHIE, you can use the Falls Risk Indicator to be notified when your patients are at-risk for damaging falls, and then intervene. Read our recent blog post by Michelle Suitor (Director, Clinical Health Information Exchange) about the Falls Risk Indicator below!


We’ll be attending ViVe 2024 (Los Angeles, Feb. 25-28), WEDI Spring Conference (Virtual, May 13-16), and Civitas 2024 Annual Conference (Detroit, Oct. 15-17). We’ll continue to add more throughout the year!

Which conferences and events are you planning to attend this year? If you need some ideas, see Fierce Healthcare’s “Healthcare conferences to put on your calendar for 2024” below.

We’re preparing a series of online trainings this year for our customers. You will learn about new product features and have the opportunity to share feedback with our HIT experts. Stay tuned for more information about our upcoming trainings!


We’d like for our newsletter to include everyone: our customers, partners, industry experts, and anyone with a compelling story to share. Got something your peers in healthcare and tech just have to know? An innovative interoperability solution or point of view?

Please email us at communications@uhin.org and we’ll include links to our favorite community content each month.