The Oregon House unanimously passed a bill Monday to set up a single credentialing system for healthcare providers that its supporters say will save $150 million.
Currently, doctors have to be credentialed by each hospital and insurance company separately. If Gov. Kitzhaber signs it into law, SB 604 will create a uniform, electronic credentialing database that each organization can access and therefore will reduce administrative waste.
"This is a huge savings in the providers' time," Sen. Alan Bates, D-Medford, told The Lund Report. "Each of them ask for something different, but essentially the same information."
Oregon would be the first state to approve a mandatory system of this kind. The Oregon Health Authority has until Jan. 1, 2016 to create the program and database and put it online.