In another boon to consumers, the plan requires that the savings generated for providers be used to negotiate reduced payments and savings for plans.

A newly published policy proposal imagines a United States health care system where insurers, not individual providers, take over the responsibility of collections and billing.

Among other benefits, the authors tout their proposal as an answer to "surprise billing" — the problem of out-of-network billing that has vexed consumers, employers and legislators.

Authors John Sackett, COO of Adventist HealthCare, and health care consultant Allen Dobson call their plan the consumer protection realignment, or CPR. The policy proposal prescribes shifting the billing and collections effort from individual providers to insurers, thus creating a centralized billing process. The proposal, the authors say, would address several flaws in the health care industry such as stingy cost-sharing, provider administrative fees and the high cost of care.