Optum/Change Healthcare Cyber Attack

On February 21, Optum/Change Healthcare experienced an unprecedented cyberattack that is creating significant operational and financial consequences for hospitals, other providers, and the communities they serve. As the situation continues, more hospitals will be in financial jeopardy and patient care could be negatively affected.

WSHA is communicating with elected officials about the impacts and the critical needs of Washington’s hospitals and the patients. We are committed to keeping members informed and providing resources to help mitigate any potential impact on patient care and the surrounding workflow.

Medicare Accelerated Payments- Updated Application Information

In response to the disruption to claims submission and payment caused by the Change Healthcare situation, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) instructed Medicare Administrative Contractors to implement an accelerated payment program. This program is like what was in place during the Covid public health emergency, where hospitals and providers can receive advance lump sum payment based on historical Medicare claim payment volumes. The amounts advanced will be recouped later from paid claims. This program should benefit hospitals and providers in cases where a large proportion of their Medicare fee-for-service payments have been disrupted. This program is for Medicare fee-for-service only and does not apply to Medicare Advantage or other payors.

Noridian has updated its application and instructions for advanced payment (Medicare FFS) to reflect the Change Healthcare situation and the new program. The updated information and links are below and at https://med.noridianmedicare.com/web/jfa/search-result/-/view/10529/change-healthcare-security-incident

Request for Change Healthcare/Optum Payment Disruption Accelerated and Advance Payment

Providers should use the request for Change Healthcare/Optum payment disruption (CHOPD) Accelerated Payment to Part A Providers and Advance Payments to part B Suppliers [DOCX] template to submit a request. The template must be initialed for all certification of facts and signed by the provider’s authorized official that is legally able to make financial commitments and assume financial obligations on behalf of the provider/supplier.

Please submit the completed CHOPD Accelerated/Advance Payment request to: JF-reimb@noridian.com or Fax: 701-277-6572

For additional information such as eligibility requirements, required acknowledgement of terms, and payment amount, please refer to CMS Fact Sheet Change Healthcare/Optum Payment Disruption (CHOPD) Accelerated Payments to Part A Providers and Advance Payments to Part B Suppliers [PDF]

If you have questions for WSHA, please contact Andrew Busz at andrewb@wsha.org. Please contact Noridian directly if you have questions regarding the application or the conditions.

Additional Resources

United Health Group’s Information on the Change Healthcare Cyber Response