The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on March 9 a new opportunity to request advanced Medicare payments for clinicians impacted by the cyberattack and resulting claims disruptions with Change Healthcare. CMS will consider applications for accelerated payments for Medicare Part A providers and advanced payments for Part B suppliers.

The cyberattack on Change Healthcare – a unit of UnitedHealth Group – which took place on Feb. 21, has hindered eligibility checks, prior authorizations, and claims submissions and halted payments to affected pharmacies, providers, hospitals and health systems. The announcement of this advanced payment program came following calls from the medical community requesting assistance from the federal government to ensure practices can continue to provide care following what has been considered one of the most serious cyberattacks in the history of the U.S. health care system.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a statement earlier in the week requesting new flexibilities from Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) and other payers like state Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program to waive or expedite solutions. In addition to the most recent announcement, CMS has streamlined the process for providers to change clearinghouses to ensure continuity of payments, encouraged insurance plans to remove or relax prior authorization requirements in both Medicare and Medicaid, and directed MACs to be prepared to accept paper claims submissions during the course of the outage.

For more on the details of the new program, along with terms and the steps to apply, review the CMS fact sheet, FAQ resource, and press release. Plus, access a recent American Medical Association letter sent to HHS and U.S. Department of Labor leadership that outlines top concerns from clinicians.

The ACC continues to monitor the widespread impacts of this cyberattack and will advocate with the medical society community for provider support and relief as Change Healthcare works to restore services.