UnitedHealth group is calling on more health insurance companies to utilize the Change Healthcare systems it has already restored and bring the healthcare system closer to normalcy.
The company, which operates Change Healthcare through its Optum subsidiary, is processing claims through its restored Assurance software and has reactivated its Relay Exchange clearinghouse, for example. But UnitedHealth Group needs more insurers to reconnect, it said in a notice on its website Wednesday.
Related: Disruptions to endure even as Change Healthcare fixes systems
“Our core systems are now back online and we are moving claims, but we need your help to get them moving faster,” UnitedHealth Group said.
UnitedHealth Group continues making progress bringing Change Healthcare’s systems back online after a cyberattack Feb. 21 forced it to disconnect them from providers, insurers and vendors. In addition, the company has distributed more than $3.3 billion to providers through its loan program, with more than 40% directed toward strained safety net hospitals and community health centers, UnitedHealth Group said.
Restoration on its own isn’t going to resolve problems with claims, reimbursements and other everyday processes. Commercial insurers, government health programs, hospitals, medical groups, nursing homes, infusion centers, drugstores and other providers will need to make their own decisions to reconnect.
“The most important thing to get claims flowing at pre-incident levels is having a critical mass of payer connectivity established. This allows claims to process for Assurance customers and gets the backlog of claims flowing again,” UnitedHealth Group said in its notice.
Reconnecting to restored platforms may be easier said than done, provider groups have said.
The National Association of Community Health Centers said in a news release Tuesday that disruptions persist following UnitedHealth Group's restoration of its clearinghouse, electronic prescribing capabilities, and improvements to its claims and payments platforms.
“Some customers and payers are not able to restore needed services because of issues with porting enrollment data, using the legacy clearinghouse or because the service is not yet operational. These ongoing issues continue to affect operations, clinical care, and claims and payments,” the National Association of Community Health Centers said.
In addition, healthcare organizations working with Change Healthcare are being cautious when evaluating how safe the repaired systems are. For example, hospitals are assessing cybersecurity and seeking independent verification, according to the Greater New York Hospital Association.
“One of the big concerns is that even once we get past this acute phase, there's going to be a long tail of trying to work through the backlog of claims that have been held or that couldn't get through or that got through, but were rejected because the clearinghouse functionality wasn't fully available,” said Molly Smith, group vice president for public policy at the American Hospital Association.
