CMS has announced a program that will accelerate payments to Medicare Part A providers and advance payments to Part B providers who were impacted by the Change Healthcare cyberattack, according to a March 9 report from the American Medical Association.
On Feb. 21, Change Healthcare, part of UnitedHealth Group, reported a "cybersecurity incident" that disrupted connectivity and healthcare operations nationwide.
The outage has caused an estimated $100 million daily impact on the healthcare industry, according to the AMA.
"Many physician practices operate on thin margins, and we are especially concerned about the impact on small and/or rural practices, as well as those that care for the underserved," Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, president of the AMA, said in a statement.
Testing of the Change Healthcare claims processing system is not set to start until March 18.
CMS has announced that physicians and other Medicare providers experiencing disruption because of the Change Healthcare outage can apply for "amounts representative of up to 30 days of claims payments."
The payment amount will be based on the monthly average of the total claims paid to the physician between Aug. 1 to Oct. 31, 2023. Physicians and others applying for the advance or accelerated payments must make 13 separate certifications, such as demonstrating they have attempted to obtain funding from other sources.
CMS said that it "recognizes that many Medicaid providers are deeply affected by the impact of the cyberattack. We are continuing to work closely with states and are urging Medicaid managed care plans to make prospective payments to impacted providers, as well."