Why Hospital Billing Still Runs on Paper

Lucas and Luna explore why America's healthcare billing system still relies on paper claims and fax machines, despite decades of digital transformation in other industries. They trace the problem back to the 1996 HIPAA law, which standardized electronic transactions but never mandated their use. The result: a fragmented system where providers and insurers trade paper, wasting an estimated $270 billion annually in administrative costs. Lucas breaks down why the fax machine persists — interoperability fears, small-practice inertia, and the perverse economics of clearinghouses that profit from inefficiency. Luna asks whether Medicare's recent push for digital prior authorization could finally break the logjam. A concrete look at the hidden infrastructure that makes your hospital bill slow, opaque, and often wrong. #HealthcareBilling #MedicalClaims #FaxMachine #HIPAA #ElectronicHealthRecords #AdministrativeCosts #PriorAuthorization #HealthcareEconomics #HealthcareIT #Clearinghouses #Medicare #Interoperability #PaperClaims #HealthcareCosts #Economics #ServiceSector #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo