On Feb. 21, healthcare technology giant Change Healthcare was the victim of the most significant and consequential cyberattack on the U.S. health care system in history. Change Healthcare processes 15 billion health care transactions annually — including claims transmittals and payment — greatly impacting cash flow into practices and hospitals. Since this attack, billions of dollars have stopped flowing to providers, thereby threatening the financial viability of hospitals, health systems, and provider offices.
Last week we surveyed independent practice managers to better understand the impact to regional provider offices. Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond! The results indicated practices within our region have been impacted to varying degrees.
For those impacted, we wanted to share the following updates and resources.
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Change Healthcare Status Update: According to United Health Group’s website dedicated to this incident, a phased reconnection and testing of their provider electronic claims system is planned to occur this week. For details, read Change Healthcare's March 18 news release.
- CMS Providing Advance Payments to Impacted Providers: CMS has released a fact sheet and FAQs on eligibility and how to apply for the Change Healthcare/Optum Payment Disruption (CHOPD) Accelerated and Advance Payment (AAP) programs, which provide accelerated/ advance payments to those who are experiencing delays in Medicare payments due to the Change Healthcare incident. These payments will only be available for a limited time.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact Munson’s Physician Liaisons. We are here to support you!
We continue to closely monitor this situation. Look for continued updates until this ongoing national issue has been resolved.