Managing Cash-Flow Strategies After Change Healthcare’s Cybersecurity Breach
In a member update, HCAM alerted you on February 28 that Change Healthcare — a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group Inc. — announced that its systems were adversely affected by a security incident. Change Healthcare reports that they still do not know the breadth of the impact on long-term and post-acute care communities, as most claims submissions and billing activities occur at month-end. However, the company believes it’s possible that providers may encounter difficulties in submitting and being paid for claims through vendors who use Change Healthcare clearinghouse services.
On February 29, AHCA/NCAL sent a letter requesting that HHS and CMS take specific actions in response to this issue. AHCA/NCAL President and CEO Mark Parkinson asked HHS and CMS to announce that the situation meets the criteria for issuing accelerated payments through the Medicare program; instruct Medicare Administrative Contractors to notify providers of the policy; and encourage Medicare Advantage plans to provide a similar advanced payment option.
If you are not able to process claims through your billing software vendor related to the Change Healthcare situation:
- Check with your healthcare payer to see if they have a provider portal or other mechanism that would permit manual or batch claims entry.
- If that is not an option, check with your payer to see if they are able to offer an advanced or accelerated payment until the billing software issues related to the Change Healthcare issue is resolved.
To get the latest details about Medicare accelerated payments/provider relief options, click here.