The Change Healthcare cyberattack is having an “alarming” impact on physician practices, advocates warned Health and Human Services on Wednesday.
Since the issue first arose on Feb. 21, providers in radiology and other specialties have experienced “substantial” billing and cash flow disruptions and limited electronic remittance advice from health plans. The Medical Group Management Association is imploring HHS to help mitigate these issues and prevent practices from having to take “drastic actions” to remain in operation.
“It is imperative that all Change Healthcare operations be safely reestablished as quickly as possible,” Anders Gilberg senior VP of government affairs for MGMA, wrote to the secretary of Health and Human Services Feb. 28. “While the full extent of the cyberattack and a comprehensive understanding of its effects on the healthcare system currently remain unknown, MGMA has been engaging with members and hearing alarming feedback about the myriad ways their practices have been impacted.”
The association represents more than 60,000 administrators, executives and leaders across 15,000 group practices employing 350,000-plus physicians in radiology and other specialties. It’s also heard reports of prior authorization submissions being rejected since the cyberattack, and practices being unable to perform patient eligibility checks.
Physician groups have been “diligently” instituting workarounds amid these challenges. However, many are already grappling with staffing shortages, Medicare pay cuts and inflation. Most have credit lines to help weather such disruptions, but many do not carry reserves from year to year, given their tax status, Gilberg wrote.
“These financial realities faced by medical groups illustrate just how impactful an extended billing disruption can be when consolidated under one large corporate entity,” he noted. “These effects are even more pronounced in smaller medical groups, which may not have the ability to weather extended cash flow delays. The ultimate goal is to maintain patients’ access to high-quality care and medical groups’ ability to serve their communities.”
Change Healthcare is part of Optum, a division of UnitedHealth Group. The firm offers revenue cycle services, along with PACS and other solutions in radiology. You can read the full MGMA letter to Xavier Becerra here, along with recent updates on the attack from the American Hospital Association and AMA.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.