Article

Payment Integrity and Automation

  • October 31, 2024

Payment integrity is a cornerstone of effective healthcare payer operations, directly impacting both financial performance and industry reputation. Incorrect payments—stemming from fraudulent claims, billing errors, or coverage misinterpretations—pose a significant challenge, costing the healthcare sector billions annually. In this complex landscape, healthcare payers are increasingly turning to Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to streamline and enhance their claims auditing processes. At Mizzeto, we are leading the charge in using automation to strengthen payment integrity, offering an innovative approach to reduce overpayments and errors in real-time.

Why Payment Integrity is Critical for Healthcare Payers

Ensuring payment integrity means verifying that payments made by healthcare payers to providers are accurate, appropriate, and compliant with contractual agreements and regulatory standards. This encompasses activities such as pre-payment reviews, fraud detection, validation of coding accuracy, and post-payment recovery efforts. The primary objective is to prevent incorrect payments before they occur, and efficiently recover funds in the case of overpayments.

The stakes are high. The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association estimates that healthcare fraud alone results in approximately $68 billion in losses annually in the United States. When administrative errors, duplicate billing, and incorrect claims submissions are added to the equation, the total financial burden on payers becomes staggering. This can lead to significant financial losses, operational inefficiencies, and damaged relationships with both providers and patients.

Traditional payment integrity efforts have often been reactive, focusing on post-payment audits and recovery. However, these methods are costly and inefficient, often leading to lower recovery rates. To mitigate these challenges, healthcare payers are increasingly adopting proactive strategies such as pre-adjudication auditing to identify and address errors before payments are made.

The Shortcomings of Traditional Claims Auditing Methods

Conventional payment integrity methods rely heavily on manual processes, requiring large teams of auditors to manually review vast volumes of claims data. This labor-intensive approach is not only slow and expensive but also prone to human error and inconsistency.

Key challenges associated with traditional payment integrity processes include:

  1. Overwhelming Data Volumes and Complexity: Payers process enormous volumes of claims daily. Each claim can involve multiple codes, modifiers, and coverage rules, making manual auditing an overwhelming task.
  2. Delayed Error Identification: Post-payment audits can lead to delayed detection of errors, resulting in resource-intensive recovery efforts and strained relations with providers who receive payment correction requests well after the fact.
  3. High Operational Costs: Manual auditing demands substantial human resources. The costs of hiring, training, and managing skilled auditors can quickly add up, and with the volume of claims, only a fraction can realistically be reviewed.
  4. Inefficient Recovery Processes: Catching errors after payments are made typically results in lower recovery rates due to elapsed time and difficulties in recouping funds from providers.

To move beyond these limitations, healthcare payers are increasingly turning to automation technologies such as RPA to implement more efficient and proactive payment integrity strategies.

How RPA is Changing the Landscape of Payment Integrity

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has emerged as a transformative tool for payment integrity, enabling payers to automate claims auditing processes and identify discrepancies before payments are processed. RPA uses software robots to replicate human actions, allowing for rapid data processing and application of complex rules without manual intervention.

For healthcare payers, the benefits of using RPA for payment integrity are significant:

  1. Proactive Pre-Adjudication Checks: RPA bots can conduct pre-adjudication audits on claims in real-time, applying a set of predefined rules to detect errors, inconsistencies, or potential fraud. This proactive approach prevents incorrect payments from being issued.
  2. Enhanced Accuracy and Reliability: By automating the auditing process, RPA removes the risk of human error and ensures consistent application of auditing rules across all claims, resulting in more accurate outcomes.
  3. Scalability for High-Volume Processing: Unlike manual processes, which are constrained by the number of available auditors, RPA can scale to handle large volumes of claims seamlessly, operating 24/7 without fatigue or delays.
  4. Significant Cost Savings: RPA reduces the need for large-scale auditing teams, leading to substantial cost reductions. Human auditors can then focus on complex cases that require deeper analysis, optimizing resource allocation.
  5. Timely Feedback for Providers: Automated pre-adjudication audits provide instant feedback to providers, enabling them to rectify errors quickly and resubmit claims. This not only streamlines the process but also fosters better payer-provider relationships.

How Mizzeto Drives Payment Integrity Through Tailored Automation Solutions

At Mizzeto, we are dedicated to implementing RPA solutions that enhance healthcare payers' payment integrity processes. Our approach focuses on real-time auditing and continuous optimization to ensure optimal accuracy and efficiency. Here’s how we help payers achieve robust payment integrity:

  1. Customizable Rule-Based Automation:Our RPA bots are designed to perform real-time, rule-based audits on claims pre-adjudication. We collaborate closely with payers to develop a comprehensive set of rules based on specific policies, provider contracts, coding guidelines, and regulatory requirements. The bots analyze claims data for errors such as incorrect coding, duplicate submissions, or policy breaches, flagging them for review before payment is made.
  2. Adaptive Rule Management:The healthcare sector is continually evolving, with frequent updates to coding standards, regulations, and payer-specific policies. Our RPA solutions are built to adapt dynamically, allowing for ongoing refinement and rule updates to keep pace with changes in the industry, ensuring continued effectiveness in detecting payment errors.
  3. Leveraging Data Insights for Continuous Improvement:Beyond RPA, we harness data analytics to uncover patterns and trends in claims data that may indicate fraudulent activity or recurring errors. These insights help refine the auditing process and enhance the RPA bots’ capabilities to identify anomalies and potential issues preemptively.
  4. Seamless Integration with Existing Payer Systems:We recognize the challenges of integrating new technologies with legacy systems. Our RPA solutions are designed for easy integration with a payer’s existing IT infrastructure, ensuring smooth adoption and minimizing disruption. This enables payers to quickly leverage the benefits of automation without the need for extensive system overhauls.
  5. Ongoing Performance Monitoring and Optimization:Payment integrity efforts require continuous attention. We provide comprehensive monitoring of our RPA bots to maintain peak performance. This involves regularly reviewing audit outcomes, analyzing the effectiveness of rules, and making necessary adjustments to respond to emerging challenges and opportunities.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Payment Integrity in Healthcare

As healthcare costs continue to climb, the need for robust payment integrity practices becomes even more crucial. Moving away from reactive, post-payment recovery models toward proactive, pre-adjudication strategies is essential for payers aiming to minimize financial losses and optimize operations. RPA offers a powerful solution to this challenge, providing the speed, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness necessary for modern payment integrity programs.

At Mizzeto, we believe the future of payment integrity lies in smart, automated solutions. By combining RPA with data-driven insights and continuous optimization, we empower healthcare payers to move beyond traditional, manual methods and embrace a new standard of payment accuracy and integrity.

Conclusion: RPA as a Strategic Investment for Payers

The challenges of maintaining payment integrity are significant, but the risks of inaction are even greater. With the right approach and tools, healthcare payers can significantly reduce incorrect payments and establish a more efficient, transparent, and compliant payment process. At Mizzeto, we are committed to partnering with payers to achieve these objectives through cutting-edge automation solutions.

Our expertise in RPA and our commitment to continuous improvement make us the ideal partner for healthcare payers looking to strengthen their payment integrity programs. By automating pre-adjudication checks and enhancing data-driven decision-making, we ensure that every claim is processed with the highest standards of accuracy and compliance.

For payers seeking to reduce costs, improve provider relations, and maintain regulatory compliance, investing in RPA for payment integrity is not just a choice but a strategic imperative. With Mizzeto’s tailored automation solutions, you can be confident that your payment processes are ready for the future.

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AI Data Governance - Mizzeto Collaborates with Fortune 25 Payer

AI Data Governance

The rapid acceleration of AI in healthcare has created an unprecedented challenge for payers. Many healthcare organizations are uncertain about how to deploy AI technologies effectively, often fearing unintended ripple effects across their ecosystems. Recognizing this, Mizzeto recently collaborated with a Fortune 25 payer to design comprehensive AI data governance frameworks—helping streamline internal systems and guide third-party vendor selection.

This urgency is backed by industry trends. According to a survey by Define Ventures, over 50% of health plan and health system executives identify AI as an immediate priority, and 73% have already established governance committees. 

Define Ventures, Payer and Provider Vision for AI Survey

However, many healthcare organizations struggle to establish clear ownership and accountability for their AI initiatives. Think about it, with different departments implementing AI solutions independently and without coordination, organizations are fragmented and leave themselves open to data breaches, compliance risks, and massive regulatory fines.  

Principles of AI Data Governance  

AI Data Governance in healthcare, at its core, is a structured approach to managing how AI systems interact with sensitive data, ensuring these powerful tools operate within regulatory boundaries while delivering value.  

For payers wrestling with multiple AI implementations across claims processing, member services, and provider data management, proper governance provides the guardrails needed to safely deploy AI. Without it, organizations risk not only regulatory exposure but also the potential for PHI data leakage—leading to hefty fines, reputational damage, and a loss of trust that can take years to rebuild. 

Healthcare AI Governance can be boiled down into 3 key principles:  

  1. Protect People Ensuring member data privacy, security, and regulatory compliance (HIPAA, GDPR, etc.). 
  1. Prioritize Equity – Mitigating algorithmic bias and ensuring AI models serve diverse populations fairly. 
  1. Promote Health Value - Aligning AI-driven decisions with better member outcomes and cost efficiencies. 

Protect People – Safeguarding Member Data 

For payers, protecting member data isn’t just about ticking compliance boxes—it’s about earning trust, keeping it, and staying ahead of costly breaches. When AI systems handle Protected Health Information (PHI), security needs to be baked into every layer, leaving no room for gaps.

To start, payers can double down on essentials like end-to-end encryption and role-based access controls (RBAC) to keep unauthorized users at bay. But that’s just the foundation. Real-time anomaly detection and automated audit logs are game-changers, flagging suspicious access patterns before they spiral into full-blown breaches. Meanwhile, differential privacy techniques ensure AI models generate valuable insights without ever exposing individual member identities.

Enter risk tiering—a strategy that categorizes data based on its sensitivity and potential fallout if compromised. This laser-focused approach allows payers to channel their security efforts where they’ll have the biggest impact, tightening defenses where it matters most.

On top of that, data minimization strategies work to reduce unnecessary PHI usage, and automated consent management tools put members in the driver’s seat, letting them control how their data is used in AI-powered processes. Without these layers of protection, payers risk not only regulatory crackdowns but also a devastating hit to their reputation—and worse, a loss of member trust they may never recover.

Prioritize Equity – Building Fair and Unbiased AI Models 

AI should break down barriers to care, not build new ones. Yet, biased datasets can quietly drive inequities in claims processing, prior authorizations, and risk stratification, leaving certain member groups at a disadvantage. To address this, payers must start with diverse, representative datasets and implement bias detection algorithms that monitor outcomes across all demographics. Synthetic data augmentation can fill demographic gaps, while explainable AI (XAI) tools ensure transparency by showing how decisions are made.

But technology alone isn’t enough. AI Ethics Committees should oversee model development to ensure fairness is embedded from day one. Adversarial testing—where diverse teams push AI systems to their limits—can uncover hidden biases before they become systemic issues. By prioritizing equity, payers can transform AI from a potential liability into a force for inclusion, ensuring decisions support all members fairly. This approach doesn’t just reduce compliance risks—it strengthens trust, improves engagement, and reaffirms the commitment to accessible care for everyone.

Promote Health Value – Aligning AI with Better Member Outcomes 

AI should go beyond automating workflows—it should reshape healthcare by improving outcomes and optimizing costs. To achieve this, payers must integrate real-time clinical data feeds into AI models, ensuring decisions account for current member needs rather than outdated claims data. Furthermore, predictive analytics can identify at-risk members earlier, paving the way for proactive interventions that enhance health and reduce expenses.

Equally important are closed-loop feedback systems, which validate AI recommendations against real-world results, continuously refining accuracy and effectiveness. At the same time, FHIR-based interoperability enables AI to seamlessly access EHR and provider data, offering a more comprehensive view of member health.

To measure the full impact, payers need robust dashboards tracking key metrics such as cost savings, operational efficiency, and member outcomes. When implemented thoughtfully, AI becomes much more than a tool for automation—it transforms into a driver of personalized, smarter, and more transparent care.

Integrated artificial intelligence compliance
FTI Technology

Importance of an AI Governance Committee

An AI Governance Committee is a necessity for payers focused on deploying AI technologies in their organization. As artificial intelligence becomes embedded in critical functions like claims adjudication, prior authorizations, and member engagement, its influence touches nearly every corner of the organization. Without a central body to oversee these efforts, payers risk a patchwork of disconnected AI initiatives, where decisions made in one department can have unintended ripple effects across others. The stakes are high: fragmented implementation doesn’t just open the door to compliance violations—it undermines member trust, operational efficiency, and the very purpose of deploying AI in healthcare.

To be effective, the committee must bring together expertise from across the organization. Compliance officers ensure alignment with HIPAA and other regulations, while IT and data leaders manage technical integration and security. Clinical and operational stakeholders ensure AI supports better member outcomes, and legal advisors address regulatory risks and vendor agreements. This collective expertise serves as a compass, helping payers harness AI’s transformative potential while protecting their broader healthcare ecosystem.

Mizzeto’s Collaboration with a Fortune 25 Payer

At Mizzeto, we’ve partnered with a Fortune 25 payer to design and implement advanced AI Data Governance frameworks, addressing both internal systems and third-party vendor selection. Throughout this journey, we’ve found that the key to unlocking the full potential of AI lies in three core principles: Protect People, Prioritize Equity, and Promote Health Value. These principles aren’t just aspirational—they’re the bedrock for creating impactful AI solutions while maintaining the trust of your members.

If your organization is looking to harness the power of AI while ensuring safety, compliance, and meaningful results, let’s connect. At Mizzeto, we’re committed to helping payers navigate the complexities of AI with smarter, safer, and more transformative strategies. Reach out today to see how we can support your journey.

February 14, 2025

5

min read

Feb 21, 20242 min read

Strategic Impact of Federal Medicaid Cuts

Strategic Impact of Federal Medicaid Cuts

Congress recently passed significant Medicaid cuts as part of the "Big Beautiful Bill," reshaping the financial landscape for healthcare providers and health plans nationwide. These funding reductions profoundly impact healthcare stakeholders, affecting Medicaid eligibility, provider reimbursements, and overall healthcare access. This article examines these cuts in detail, highlighting strategic insights for health plan executives.

Breakdown of the Medicaid Cuts

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), analyzed extensively by KFF, forecasts substantial federal Medicaid spending reductions over the next decade, estimating a nationwide reduction of approximately $500 billion over ten years. Most states will experience an average decrease of about 13%, with some states facing cuts ranging from 7% to as high as 18%. These funding reductions specifically target expansion populations, managed care rates, and provider reimbursement structures.

Picture 1, Picture

Impact on Health Plans

Health plans will experience both immediate and long-term effects from these Medicaid cuts. Increased member churn and enrollment volatility are likely outcomes, given that tightened eligibility criteria will cause individuals to frequently cycle in and out of Medicaid. This scenario increases administrative burdens, eligibility verification costs, and outreach expenses aimed at retaining eligible members. Furthermore, maintaining continuity of care and managing member health outcomes amid these disruptions will pose additional challenges.

Financial forecasting and risk management will become even more critical. Health plans must adjust their actuarial assumptions, premium rate-setting, and risk adjustment methodologies to account for potential revenue fluctuations and changing risk profiles. Contingency planning will be essential to navigate financial uncertainties resulting from decreases in enrollment.

Operational efficiencies will also become imperative as budgets tighten. Health plans will need to strategically invest in automation and advanced analytics to reduce administrative overhead and streamline core processes like utilization management (UM) and claims processing. Emphasizing preventive care and chronic disease management programs will also help lower costs associated with emergency and acute care services.

Provider-Side Implications

Providers will encounter significant reimbursement pressures due to reduced Medicaid funding, impacting care delivery and financial stability. Health plans will need to proactively manage potential narrowing of provider networks as reimbursement rates decline, which may increase provider contract negotiations. To mitigate these pressures, innovative value-based payment models and alternative reimbursement structures can incentivize quality outcomes and help stabilize provider networks.

Network adequacy and provider stability will become central concerns, as reimbursement cuts could lead to provider attrition from Medicaid networks, jeopardizing access to care for Medicaid members. The increased demand for essential providers, such as behavioral health specialists and primary care physicians, will further complicate network adequacy. Collaborating closely with providers on shared-risk arrangements can help stabilize networks and ensure continuity of care.

State-by-State Variability

The Medicaid cuts vary significantly across states. High-impact states such as California, Texas, and New York face larger proportional reductions, intensifying pressures on local health systems and requiring more strategic adjustments. In contrast, lower-impact states like Wyoming, Florida, and Alabama may have greater flexibility in transitioning their Medicaid operations. Health plan executives must closely analyze state-specific data to accurately project regional impacts and tailor responses accordingly.

Forward-Looking Strategic InsightsTo effectively respond to these Medicaid cuts, health plans should consider several strategic actions. Embracing value-based care models can stabilize revenue streams and improve patient outcomes by reducing reliance on fee-for-service reimbursement structures. Investing in digital transformation, including advanced analytics, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI), will enhance operational efficiencies, streamline UM processes, prior authorization, and claims processing.

Enhancing provider partnerships is another critical strategy. Health plans should explore shared-risk arrangements and provide resources to support providers in navigating financial pressures and improving operational efficiencies. Additionally, implementing robust member engagement and outreach strategies can help mitigate churn by proactively communicating eligibility criteria, renewal processes, and preventive care resources. Enhanced digital tools can further simplify member interactions and improve overall satisfaction.

A diagram of the senate reconciliationAI-generated content may be incorrect., Picture

Conclusion

The Medicaid cuts implemented under the "Big Beautiful Bill" represent a significant shift in the Medicaid landscape, requiring health plan executives to make critical strategic decisions. By proactively addressing enrollment volatility, reimbursement pressures, operational efficiencies, and provider stability, health plans can navigate these reductions effectively and maintain the quality of care delivery.

Health plans that embrace innovation, strengthen provider partnerships, and enhance operational agility will be well-positioned to manage the impact of these Medicaid cuts and emerge stronger in an evolving healthcare market. At Mizzeto, we specialize in helping health plans adapt to market disruptions through smart automation, AI-powered operational tools, and expert staffing solutions. Whether you're reevaluating your UM workflows, navigating reimbursement shifts, or planning for churn-driven outreach, our team is here to help you build resilient, cost-efficient systems.

Sources:

https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/allocating-cbos-estimates-of-federal-medicaid-spending-reductions-and-enrollment-loss-across-the-states/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://www.investors.com/politics/one-big-beautiful-bill-act-president-trump-tax-cuts-medicaid-spending/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/medicaid-cuts-healthcare-trump-bill-7236d5e6?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2025/07/trumps-budget-bill-could-cost-lives-put-5-million-in-debt-how-to-cover-the-story/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-truth-about-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-acts-cuts-to-medicaid-and-medicare/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61469?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Jan 30, 20246 min read

July 10, 2025

2

min read

Modernizing UM Intake with OCR Excellence

Modernizing UM Intake with OCR Excellence

In healthcare payer operations, utilization management (UM) intake is a mission-critical function—tasked with ingesting, interpreting, and processing prior authorization requests, clinical review documentation, and care determination materials submitted by providers. Yet despite widespread digital transformation across other parts of the healthcare ecosystem, UM intake remains heavily manual. Faxed forms, PDFs, and scanned medical records often arrive via fragmented workflows, requiring health plan staff to manually extract, transcribe, and route essential data to the correct systems and reviewers. This inefficiency adds significant friction to operations, delaying determinations and increasing labor costs. According to the 2023 CAHQ Index1 only 31% of prior authorization transactions are fully electronic, while 35% still rely on manual submission methods—a persistent mismatch that creates avoidable delays and administrative burden for health plans.

AI-driven OCR and NLP systems in payer settings have achieved very high accuracy in extracting and interpreting data from clinical and administrative documents. For example, a U.S. federal health agency (likely the VA) modernized its claims intake with an AI-based OCR platform: the legacy system’s ~77% accuracy was boosted to over 96% accuracy, while automating 99% of the form processing2. These results indicate that modern OCR/NLP solutions can surpass the 95%+ accuracy mark, often corresponding to extremely high classification AUCs. Such accuracy dramatically reduces human error – insurers have seen up to 90% error reduction in document processing when adopting OCR automation3. High precision in data extraction means payers can trust AI outputs for critical processes, minimizing misclassifications or overlooked information.

Enter Optical Character Recognition (OCR), now enhanced by natural language processing (NLP) to transform unstructured documentation into structured, actionable data. Unlike legacy OCR tools that merely digitize text, today’s AI-augmented OCR systems can parse scanned clinical forms and extract key fields—such as diagnosis codes, provider names, dates of service, and member identifiers—with high accuracy. For health plans, this advancement allows manual intake to be replaced—or significantly augmented—by automated workflows that feed critical data directly into UM systems, reducing processing time, ensuring auditability, and accelerating clinical review timelines.

From Bottlenecks to Breakthroughs: Time and Cost Savings

The operational impact of OCR is significant. Manual UM intake can take 10–15 minutes per case; OCR-capable automation handles them in seconds. When multiplied across thousands of prior authorizations, the downstream effect is profound—faster processing, reduced labor cost, fewer transcription errors, and a more agile payer workflow.

Faster, cleaner intake dramatically improves care delivery velocity. Staff can redirect from data entry to higher-value tasks like complex case review or provider outreach. Moreover, structured intake data enables robust analytics. Health plans can identify bottlenecks, monitor denial rates, and drill into clinical trends—all made possible by reliable, automated data capture.

Safeguarding Accuracy, Compliance, and Privacy

Speed means little without accuracy and control. To ensure trusted OCR deployment, health plans must couple systems with domain-specific training—covering medical terminology, diagnostic codes, and typical UM document formats. Validation layers should automatically flag low-confidence extracts for human review—kept deliberately low, often at under 5% of cases.

From a compliance standpoint, logging every step—from document ingestion to final approval—is non-negotiable. These logs support HIPAA mandates and audit readiness. Strong encryption, access controls, and document tracing help meet CMS and OCR privacy guidelines. OCR accuracy has also been rigorously tested in federally funded studies, where performance varies by layout, font, and data quality, reinforcing the need for process-specific oversight4.

The Tangible Benefits of OCR-Enabled UM Intake

Evidence from clinical and administrative implementations highlights the growing maturity of OCR/NLP in healthcare environments. For example, in a federally funded study, hybrid OCR/NLP systems achieved over 99% accuracy when extracting colonoscopy and pathology data across varied clinical report formats (PMC). 

Automating UM intake dramatically accelerates processing and decision times. By digitizing incoming requests and using AI to pre-populate or even auto-adjudicate cases, health plans have cut throughput times by as much as half. Real-world deployments back this up: one regional Medicare contractor implemented an intelligent document processing solution and cut document handling times by over 50% for 35 million Medicare appeal pages, speeding up prior authorization case reviews accordingly5. In short, OCR/NLP intake automation enables payers to process UM requests in a fraction of the time previously required.

A Roadmap for Implementation

Deploying OCR at scale begins with Document Profiling. This first step involves identifying the highest-impact document types—typically those that are high-volume and low in variability. Prior authorization forms, structured provider notes, and standardized intake formats are ideal candidates, as they offer consistency that allows OCR engines to perform with optimal accuracy from the outset.

Next comes Pilot Deployment, where a focused OCR/NLP solution is tested on a specific document category. During this phase, health plans should measure throughput, accuracy rates, error types, and the percentage of cases requiring manual review. This controlled environment helps teams fine-tune extraction logic, validate system performance, and establish key performance indicators for scaling.

System Integration follows, ensuring the extracted data flows securely and traceably into utilization management platforms or case management systems. This includes configuring APIs or file-based ingestion pipelines, verifying that data fields map correctly, and implementing audit trails to support traceability and compliance with HIPAA and CMS requirements.

The fourth phase, Scale Strategically, involves expanding OCR capability across a broader range of document types. This may include more complex or unstructured documents such as handwritten physician notes, scanned lab forms, or multi-page clinical summaries. As use cases broaden, it’s critical to continuously refine OCR models and adjust workflows to account for new formats or data variability.

Finally, Governance and Monitoring underpin the long-term success of OCR implementation. Health plans should maintain live dashboards to monitor system accuracy, processing times, and manual intervention rates. Regular audits must be conducted to validate performance, uncover biases or drift, and ensure that all data handling practices meet HIPAA, HITRUST, and other applicable standards. This ensures not only operational excellence but also defensible compliance in a highly regulated industry.

Conclusion: OCR as the Cornerstone of Modern UM

OCR is no longer optional in modern UM workflows—it’s essential. When properly deployed and governed, OCR enables profound improvements: faster decisions, fewer errors, reduced costs, and liberated staff. The shift from bottlenecked intake to seamless, automated data capture represents a measurable leap forward for payer operations.

For health plans facing cost pressures, regulatory scrutiny, and rising expectations, OCR-powered UM intake is one of the most accessible tools for transformation. With accuracy rates routinely exceeding 95%, and ROI often reaching 30%+ in the first year, the business case is compelling.

Mizzeto brings deep healthcare domain knowledge, process design expertise, and governance frameworks tailored for payer use. If your organization is ready to eliminate intake inefficiencies, improve accuracy, and secure your UM pipeline, reach out to Mizzeto. Let us help you deploy AI-enhanced OCR responsibly, effectively, and with demonstrable results.

Sources Cited

1 CAHQ Index

2 SPEEDING UP CLAIMS PROCESSING

3 Top Benefits of OCR in Insurance

4 Extracting Medical Information from Paper COVID-19 Assessment Forms

5 Amazon Web Services

Jan 30, 20246 min read

July 8, 2025

2

min read

Article

Governance at Scale: How Health Plans Should Risk-Tier Their LLMs

Governance at Scale

As artificial intelligence reshapes healthcare operations—from member outreach to risk adjustment—health plans face a pivotal question: how to harness large language models (LLMs) safely and strategically. The answer lies in robust governance that tiers each model based on its capacity, accuracy, bias risk, and regulatory exposure.

The Landscape: Capabilities Without Guarantees

Large language models have emerged as versatile tools capable of generating fluent, contextually rich content and responding to queries across a wide spectrum of domains. Some models excel in conversational fluency, while others focus on delivering traceable, source-backed answers. However, fluency and technical metrics like perplexity—which measure how well a model predicts the next word in a sequence—do not guarantee factual reliability, safety, or fairness.

While these models demonstrate strong baseline performance, they can generate incomplete, outdated, or hallucinated content. A 2023 Stanford study found that some models hallucinated in over 20% of healthcare-related outputs, particularly when asked to summarize or recommend treatments1. These shortcomings make rigorous evaluation and governance essential when applying LLMs in healthcare, where the stakes include patient safety, regulatory compliance, and operational integrity.

Strengths and Limitations in a Healthcare Setting

Clinical studies and operational evaluations suggest that general-purpose LLMs show promising results in areas like patient communication, decision support, and knowledge synthesis. However, assessments also reveal inconsistencies in accuracy, response variability, and hallucination of data or references. A Mayo Clinic review found that only 59% of model-generated clinical advice aligned with actual medical guidelines when left unchecked 2. Models often struggle with nuance in medical context or decision-making logic, and may underperform in real-world clinical alignment.

These limitations reinforce a critical truth: even the most sophisticated LLMs must be carefully validated and monitored, particularly when integrated into healthcare workflows that impact diagnoses, treatments, or member experiences.

A Regulatory Horizon: LLMs as High-Risk Medical Tools

Governance is becoming non-negotiable. The FDA’s AI/ML Action Plan calls for lifecycle monitoring, model versioning, and real-world performance auditing. The European Union’s AI Act classifies healthcare-related AI as "high-risk," and evolving HIPAA interpretations increasingly cover algorithmic transparency and data traceability.

A Deloitte report from 2023 found that 71% of healthcare executives believe AI regulations will significantly affect future digital strategies, particularly around LLM use3. For health plans, this means implementing a rigorous framework that risk-tiers LLMs based on their application, capability, and potential for harm.

A Four-Tier Risk Framework for Health Plan LLMs

Mizzeto proposes a structured tiering model aligned with payer priorities in compliance, automation, and member impact.

Tier 1: Advisory or Information Retrieval

Tier 1 includes models used for non-clinical functions such as internal knowledge bases, FAQ bots, and general education. These applications typically present minimal risk, as they do not influence care decisions or involve sensitive data handling. The primary concerns here are outdated content and potential inaccuracies, which can usually be mitigated with well-defined content review cycles.

Governance strategies at this level should focus on basic controls: logging user interactions, conducting periodic accuracy audits, and performing Privacy Impact Checks (PICs) to ensure no protected health information (PHI) is inadvertently introduced. These models are well suited for provider self-service portals, employee onboarding, and low-risk internal search applications.

Tier 2: Administrative Automation

Tier 2 applies to models assisting with operational workflows such as claims triage, prior authorization support, and provider communications. These models play a more active role in administrative decision-making, which introduces a higher risk of downstream impact. Errors at this level could lead to incorrect approvals, delays in processing, or provider dissatisfaction.

Due to this elevated risk, governance must include human-in-the-loop oversight for high-stakes outputs. Logs should capture both prompts and model responses, and performance monitoring should track error rates, bias, and hallucination frequency. Following NIST-aligned frameworks, health plans should incorporate calibration tests to measure overconfidence in outputs and reduce automation bias.

Tier 3: Clinical-Support Applications

This tier includes use cases that directly assist clinical staff or members in understanding care options, interpreting medical information, or identifying risk factors. These models often influence—but do not finalize—care decisions. Because they operate in a high-stakes domain, even small inaccuracies or biases can disproportionately affect health outcomes or erode trust.

Effective governance in Tier 3 requires multiple layers of human review, ideally involving clinicians who can assess content accuracy and relevance. Models should be stress-tested using adversarial techniques to detect vulnerabilities such as data poisoning or performance degradation over time. Additionally, governance must track model provenance, enforce version control, and implement audit trails aligned with FDA and NIST guidelines.

Tier 4: Regulated Diagnostic or Therapeutic Support

The highest tier is reserved for models that directly assist with diagnosis, treatment planning, or other regulated medical functions. These systems are considered Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) and must comply with FDA clearance pathways, such as 510(k) or De Novo classifications. They are subject to the highest scrutiny due to their potential to directly impact patient care.

Governance in Tier 4 must be rigorous and comprehensive. This includes validated performance benchmarks, adherence to GxP practices, explainability standards, and the ability to override model recommendations in real time. These systems also require continuous real-world monitoring to ensure safety and effectiveness, as well as extensive bias testing to ensure equitable performance across diverse populations. Only models that have met these stringent requirements should be deployed in high-impact diagnostic or therapeutic environments.

Why Tiering Matters for Health Plans

A tiered governance model offers multiple strategic advantages. It enables fast rollout of low-risk tools while dedicating due diligence to high-risk applications. It ensures compliance with regulatory bodies like the FDA and aligns with global standards such as the EU AI Act. Most importantly, it focuses oversight where it matters most—on applications where errors can cause harm.

Health plans can operationalize this framework by cataloging LLM use cases and mapping them to the appropriate tier. Governance committees—spanning compliance, clinical, and IT—can establish playbooks, monitoring protocols, and update cadences. Dashboards tracking hallucination rates, bias drift, and PHI leakage support transparency and continuous improvement. This governance strategy dovetails with Mizzeto’s core philosophy: Protect People, Prioritize Equity, and Promote Health Value.

Additionally, implementing this model encourages a culture of responsible innovation. It gives organizations a structured way to experiment with new LLM applications while minimizing exposure to risk. Teams across legal, compliance, product, and data science can speak a common governance language, ensuring that development velocity doesn’t outpace safety and trust requirements.

Mizzeto has already begun implementing this governance model at scale for a Fortune 500 healthcare company, supporting LLM deployment across multiple departments including claims operations, care coordination, and digital member services. By embedding tiered oversight into AI adoption, Mizzeto has helped this client reduce operational risk, meet regulatory expectations, and confidently scale their use of generative AI while keeping patient safety and data integrity at the forefront.

The Road Ahead

As LLM adoption accelerates, governance frameworks must evolve. Explainable AI is essential for clinician trust. Bias detection mechanisms are critical for fair outcomes. Guardrails against data poisoning and alignment with NIST/WHO guidelines will future-proof these systems.

Notably, a McKinsey report found that 60% of healthcare leaders plan to expand generative AI initiatives in 2024, but only 21% have implemented formal governance structures to manage associated risks4. These gaps underscore the need for structured oversight like the tiering approach outlined here.

Health plans are at a turning point. Poorly governed AI can result in clinical missteps, regulatory fines, or reputational harm. Smart governance, on the other hand, transforms risk into strategic advantage. By stratifying LLMs into risk-aligned tiers, Mizzeto empowers health plans to deploy AI responsibly, drive innovation, and safeguard patient trust. Governance isn’t just compliance—it’s the infrastructure for sustainable, scalable AI success in healthcare. 

If your organization is navigating the complexities of LLM deployment and seeking a structured, proven approach to governance, Mizzeto is here to help. With deep experience implementing tiered risk models for Fortune 500 healthcare clients, we understand how to balance innovation with compliance, safety, and ROI. Whether you're exploring administrative use cases or deploying LLMs in clinical environments, our team can guide you through every step of responsible integration. Please reach out to Mizzeto to learn how we can help you properly risk-tier your LLMs and deploy them with confidence.

1AI on Trial: Legal Models Hallucinate in 1 out of 6 (or More) Benchmarking Queries

2Medical Hallucinations in Foundation Models and Their Impact on Healthcare

3About 40% of health execs say generative AI pays off, Deloitte finds

4Generative AI in healthcare: Current trends and future outlook

Jan 30, 20246 min read

June 27, 2025

2

min read

Article

How Health Plans Can Prepare for Member Enrollment Season

Preparing For Member Enrollment Season

Each fall, as open enrollment begins, health plans find themselves on the front lines of one of the most complex operational efforts in the industry: onboarding new members. For those managing a health plan, the stakes are high. A single misstep during enrollment can cascade into months of backlogs, errors, and missed care — damaging not just reputation, but patient outcomes.

That’s why this season, more health plans are turning to automation.

A Critical Moment for Member Experience

Enrollment is often the first impression a new member has of your health plan. It’s also one of the most resource-intensive processes for healthcare operations teams — requiring precise coordination between eligibility checks, ID card generation, network matching, and regulatory compliance. Last year’s open enrollment season set new records. During the 2024 Open Enrollment Period, a staggering 21.4 million members either selected or were automatically re‑enrolled in Marketplace plans—a 31% increase over the prior year. That includes 16.4 million through HealthCare.gov and 5.1 million via state‐based Marketplaces.

In short: It’s a moment of truth. And getting it right matters.

At Mizzeto, we’ve seen how fragmented systems and manual processes can bog down enrollment efforts, causing slowdowns that frustrate patients and strain staff. That’s why modernizing these workflows isn’t just a tech upgrade — it’s a care upgrade.

The Problem: Fragmented Systems Are Failing Member Enrollment

Despite the growing complexity of member enrollment, many health plans are still relying on outdated, manual processes. These inefficiencies introduce friction at every step—from eligibility verification delays and incomplete forms to ID card mailing lags and compliance tracking gaps. In a landscape where digital-first expectations are rising and operational resilience is essential, failing to modernize enrollment workflows can lead to increased churn, compliance risk, and unnecessary administrative spend.

These inefficiencies introduce friction at every step of the enrollment process—creating bottlenecks that frustrate members, drain staff capacity, and increase the risk of downstream errors. Eligibility verification delays can leave members in limbo, unable to access care or benefits while systems catch up. Incomplete or manual form entries lead to data inaccuracies that require costly rework and erode trust. Delays in ID card mailing not only slow access to care but also flood call centers with avoidable support requests. And without automated compliance tracking, plans face serious regulatory exposure—missing disclosures, outdated acknowledgements, or lack of documentation altogether.

In a landscape where digital-first expectations are becoming the norm and operational resilience is more critical than ever, continuing to rely on outdated, siloed systems is no longer viable. The cost isn’t just inefficiency—it’s higher member churn, avoidable compliance violations, and mounting administrative overhead. Modernizing enrollment workflows is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s a strategic necessity.

How Automation Transforms Member Enrollment

Automation isn’t just a convenience—it’s the foundation for a modern, resilient member enrollment experience. Leading health plans are replacing fragmented, manual processes with integrated, automated workflows that accelerate onboarding, reduce errors, and improve satisfaction for both members and staff.

It starts with intelligent eligibility verification and smart intake handling. Automated systems connect directly with payer databases to verify eligibility in real time, eliminating the need for back-and-forth with exchanges or internal teams. In parallel, OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology can extract data from scanned or faxed UM intake forms—automatically digitizing key information and routing it into downstream systems. This dramatically reduces the need for manual re-keying, lowers the risk of transcription errors, and speeds up the review and approval of services tied to enrollment.

Next is instant benefit activation and guided plan selection. Once eligibility is confirmed, members receive their digital ID cards in seconds—no waiting for print-and-mail cycles. Simultaneously, automated plan matching tools can recommend the best-fit providers and plans based on a member’s location, prior care usage, and preferences. This seamless experience not only boosts confidence in the plan but also reduces early churn by ensuring the member is matched to care that fits their needs from day one.

Finally, end-to-end communication and compliance tracking close the loop. Automated reminders, email nudges, and portal prompts guide members through every stage of enrollment, improving completion rates and reducing support tickets. On the compliance side, automation ensures that every disclosure, acknowledgement, and timestamped interaction is captured and logged—helping payers stay audit-ready while reducing risk.

In today’s environment of staffing shortages and rising digital expectations, automation isn’t a luxury—it’s a strategic imperative. These integrated solutions not only streamline enrollment operations, they also lay the groundwork for stronger member relationships and long-term retention.

Benefits of Streamlined Enrollment Automation

When member enrollment workflows are automated, health plans see measurable improvements across the board. First impressions become lasting trust as members experience smooth onboarding from day one. Operational resilience increases as real-time systems prevent delays, misrouted claims, and network mismatches. Compliance becomes proactive instead of reactive, with automation flagging missing documentation and capturing disclosures automatically. And staff morale gets a boost as tedious manual tasks are replaced with meaningful, high-value work—improving retention and productivity at once

Today’s members expect digital ease and instant access—not paperwork and phone tag. With more than 21 million people navigating enrollment annually, even small inefficiencies can scale into major issues. As member expectations evolve, enrollment must evolve with them. That means modernizing not just the tech, but the entire experience—from eligibility and activation to communication and care coordination. Member enrollment isn’t just a task to complete; it’s the foundation for lasting engagement and plan loyalty.

Why It’s Worth the Investment

Beyond speed and accuracy, automation reduces burnout. Fewer manual entries mean fewer mistakes. Fewer mistakes mean fewer member complaints. And fewer complaints mean happier teams and healthier retention.

In the end, enrollment isn’t just about signing up members. It’s about setting the tone for how care will be delivered — efficiently, personally, and reliably.

Enrollment is no longer just an administrative necessity—it’s a strategic differentiator. A fast, seamless enrollment experience sets the tone for the entire member relationship. With automation, health plan payers don’t just survive enrollment—they own it.

Ready to turn enrollment into a competitive advantage? Book a meeting with Mizzeto to see how our solutions can transform your member experience from day one.

Jan 30, 20246 min read

June 25, 2025

2

min read