A new study released by the non-profit Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH) asserts that the states could achieve $4.8 billion in annual Medicaid savings by relying more on automation in the care delivery process.

Only 44% of Medicaid recipients are currently on plans with automated authorization and payment processes, the group said. If all transactions were electronic, the states could achieve significant reductions in operational and administrative costs.

CAQH projected that California — which spends more per capita on healthcare than any other state — would save more than $654 million per year. Likewise, New York was projected to save nearly $572 million.

Critical swing states Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania could each save well over $200 million per year if they would fully automate their Medicaid plans’ transactions, according to the alliance.

Learn more here, from HealthcareDive‘s Les Masterson.