Senior federal officials met with a wide array of healthcare company and trade group executives Tuesday as they urged UnitedHealth Group and other insurance companies to do more to aid providers harmed by the ongoing Change Healthcare outage.
UnitedHealth Group — which operates Change Healthcare through its Optum subsidiary and sells insurance through its UnitedHealthcare subsidiary — and the rest of the industry can do more to mitigate cash flow problems arising from a cyberattack that has disrupted healthcare operations for weeks, the White House, the Health and Human Services Department and other authorities said during the meeting, according to an HHS news release.
Related: Two weeks and counting: How Change outage is hurting finances
White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden, White House Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technologies Anne Neuberger, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure were among the federal officials at the meeting.
Representatives of UnitedHealth Group, Elevance Health, Cigna and other insurers attended along with leaders from trade associations across the healthcare sector, including AHIP, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.
“Secretary Becerra and Domestic Policy Advisor Tanden made clear the government and private sector must work together to help providers make payroll and deliver timely care to the American people and that insurers help providers in this moment of challenge,” HHS said in the news release.
The meeting followed previous HHS pleas that insurers ease the burden on providers suffering financial difficulties by taking steps such as expediting reimbursements and relaxing prior authorization requirements. In addition, CMS has taken action to assist providers, such as inviting requests for advance Medicare payments.
Change Healthcare was the victim of a ransomware attack on Feb. 21 that forced the company to pull down its systems, triggering chaos throughout the healthcare systems. Change Healthcare processes 15 billion transactions a year, including claims, payments and prior authorization requests.
UnitedHealth Group said last week that it expects its electronic payments platform to be up and running by Friday and its medical claims network by next Monday. The company restored its electronic prescribing platform last week.
Following the meeting Tuesday, AHIP President and CEO Mike Tuffin said insurers have stepped up to help providers navigate the Change Healthcare outage, including by setting up alternative payment processes.
“Health insurance plans have taken immediate and comprehensive steps to support providers and ensure continuity in patient care in response to the cyberattack. These efforts have enabled many providers to resume claim submissions, receive timely payments and maintain their operations,” Tuffin said in a news release.
Tuffin warned, however, that waiving prior authorization requirements while providing advanced payments “could expose patients and employers to fraud, waste and unnecessary costs."
Also Tuesday, Highmark announced it would offer advance reimbursements to providers unable to submit claims and receive payments.
“This assistance program will help those providers get through this disruption and will also help ensure that our members can continue to access care and utilize the benefits they deserve," Kate Musler, Highmark senior vice president of health plan risk management and provider networks, said in a news release.
The AMA wants the federal government to take additional direct actions to support providers. AMA CEO Dr. James Madara sent a letter to Becerra and Su on Monday urging them to assemble a database of insurers offering advance payments, ensure all Medicare administrative contractors and insurers accept paper claims, waive deadlines for claims and appeals, and provide more information on electronic data interchange enrollment.
