The following discusses just how much of our healthcare expenses are due to paperwork which could be eliminated under a single-payer system:
http://www.harvardscience.harvard.e...-health-care-paperwork-cost-2943-billion-1999

Furthermore, for reference here is testimony from a Massachusetts MD where they have already implemented a public option plan very similar to what the President is proposing on a national level. Note he is not advocating adopting the system he is already operating under.