The legislature finds that:

     (1) The health care system in the nation and in Washington state costs nearly twice as much per capita as other industrialized nations.

     (2) The fragmentation and variation in administrative processes prevalent in our health care system contribute to the high cost of health care, putting it increasingly beyond the reach of small businesses and individuals in Washington.

     (3) In 2006, the legislature's blue ribbon commission on health care costs and access requested the office of the insurance commissioner to conduct a study of administrative costs and recommendations to reduce those costs. Findings in the report included:

     (a) In Washington state approximately thirty cents of every dollar received by hospitals and doctors' offices is consumed by the administrative expenses of public and private payors and the providers;

     (b) Before the doctors and hospitals receive the funds for delivering the care, approximately fourteen percent of the insurance premium has already been consumed by payor administration. The payor's portion of expense totals approximately four hundred fifty dollars per insurance member per year in Washington state;

     (c) Over thirteen percent of every dollar received by a physician's office is devoted to interactions between the provider and payor;

     (d) Between 1997 and 2005, billing and insurance related costs for hospitals in Washington grew at an average pace of nineteen percent per year; and

     (e) The greatest opportunity for improved efficiency and administrative cost reduction in our health care system would involve standardizing and streamlining activities between providers and payors.

     (4) To address these inefficiencies, constrain health care inflation, and make health care more affordable for Washingtonians, the legislature seeks to establish streamlined and uniform procedures for payors and providers of health care services in the state. It is the intent of the legislature to foster a continuous quality improvement cycle to simplify health care administration. This process should involve leadership in the health care industry and health care purchasers, with regulatory oversight from the office of the insurance commissioner.

[2009 c 298 § 1.]