FINDINGS AND PURPOSE

(a) The legislature finds that patients deserve accurate, instantaneous information about coverage and financial responsibility to make well-informed decisions about their treatment and spending. (b) The legislature finds that the ability of health benefit plan issuers and administrators to exchange eligibility and benefit information with physicians, health care providers, hospitals, and patients will ensure a more efficient and effective health care delivery system. (c) The legislature finds that electronic access to eligibility information will reduce the amount of time and resources spent on administrative functions, prevent abuse and fraud, streamline and simplify processing of insurance claims, and increase transparency in premium cost and health care cost. (d) The legislature finds that patients often request information about their health care coverage from their health care providers and that health care providers therefore need access to real-time information about their patients' eligibility to receive health care under the health benefit plan, coverage of health care under the health benefit plan, and the benefits associated with the health benefit plan. (e) The legislature finds that adoption of technology by insurers, health maintenance organizations, and health care providers to facilitate use of electronic data exchange standards currently available will make coverage and health care electronic transactions more predictable, reliable, and consistent.