Cash Flow Disruption due to Change/United Health Cyber-Attack

[drusso]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/03/change-health-care-hack-hospitals/

Temporary Funding Assistance Program for Providers

Optum launched temporary funding support for short-term cash flow needs for providers who received payments from payers processed by Change Healthcare.

www.optum.com

"At his solo practice in southern New Jersey, Craig Wax said his billing is “backward, upside-down and on fire.” The doctor cares for patients of all ages and accepts multiple types of insurance, relying on a small billing company that uses a software provider dependent on Change’s platform.

“We’re going to dump to paper” — submitting claims on paper forms — “and hope that insurance companies respond to paper claims,” he said.
Some of the most persistent critics of the U.S. health system, like the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons — which opposes programs such as Medicare, the federal government’s health insurance program for older Americans — point to the Change Healthcare hack as another reason to be skeptical of the current payment model.

The group’s executive director, Jane Orient, said the incident “shows the catastrophe that can result from dependence on centralized networks and third-party payment.”

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[Dr. Ice]

Yup we are 25% revenue down because of it. Ransomware attack that was claimed by people of “Russian descent”

 

[jsaul]

What is changes healthcare?

 

[hyperalgesia]

What is changes healthcare?

It's a fintech company owned by UHC that manages payments for UHC and Optum and other healthcare businesses. It got hacked with a ransomware attack and apparently paid 22 million in btc to stop the attack.

Hackers Behind the Change Healthcare Ransomware Attack Just Received a $22 Million Payment

The transaction, visible on Bitcoin's blockchain, suggests the victim of one of the worst ransomware attacks in years may have paid a very large ransom.

www.wired.com

 

[RoloTomassi]

It got hacked with a ransomware attack and apparently paid 22 million in btc to stop the attack.

Well there goes my hope that UHC would start covering Intracept soon

 

[thecentral09]

Our collections are down to a grinding halt. Looks like I have enough cash on hand to remain open for 20 more days. Billing company is going to try to send all claims via paper to the payers. It’s a total mess.

 

[PinchandBurn]

Our collections are down to a grinding halt. Looks like I have enough cash on hand to remain open for 20 more days. Billing company is going to try to send all claims via paper to the payers. It’s a total mess.

Mine too

They are using alternate portals.

I think ours temporarily switched to Availity as a clearinghouse. Ironically I literally just changed billing companies in Feb. I was hoping to see a positive result. This isn't their (billing company fault) it's Change

 

[jsaul]

In a March 4 meeting with organized medicine, UnitedHealthcare told TMA, the American Medical Association, and other participants that to help physicians until systems are restored, the company will make weekly payments to practices based on historical payments made by United to those practices. The payments, which will not be tied to any fees or interest, will be reconciled after systems are restored, United representatives said.

Temporary Funding Assistance Program for Providers

Optum launched temporary funding support for short-term cash flow needs for providers who received payments from payers processed by Change Healthcare.

www.optum.com

 

[drusso]

Someone got a pay-day.

Hackers Behind the Change Healthcare Ransomware Attack Just Received a $22 Million Payment

The transaction, visible on Bitcoin's blockchain, suggests the victim of one of the worst ransomware attacks in years may have paid a very large ransom.

www.wired.com

 

[myrandom2003]

The funding program is kinda shady.
Read response from AHA to UHC

"...Second, the terms and conditions of the agreement are shockingly onerous. Among other things, your form agreement: (1) requires repayment of loans within 5 days of receiving notice; (2) allows your bank, Optum Financial Services, to recoup funds “immediately and without prior notification”; (3) permits Optum to change the agreement simply by providing notice; (4) requires providers to give UnitedHealth Group and its subsidiaries access to past, current and future claims payment data; and (5) contains broad waivers of liability and strict limitations on damages.

Taken together, the limited eligibility and these one-sided contractual terms severely undermine the intent of this program. Indeed, we have heard from some hospitals and health systems that these simply are not terms they can accept, especially when their financial future becomes more unpredictable the longer Change Healthcare is unavailable. UnitedHealth Group, which is a Fortune 5 company that brought in more than $370 billion in revenue and $22 billion in profit in 2023, can — and should — be doing more to address the far-reaching consequences that result from Change Healthcare’s inability to provide these essential hospital revenue cycle functions nearly two weeks after the attack."

AHA Expresses Concerns with UHG Program in Response to Cyberattack on Change Healthcare | AHA

Hospitals across America typically get reimbursed daily by health insurers that rely on Change Healthcare to both receive and pay claims. Every day that core Change Healthcare functionality remains down is a day that providers are not receiving the funding they need to pay doctors and nurses...

www.aha.org