ASA Continues to Seek Relief for Practices Hurt by Change Healthcare Cyberattack

ASA continues to urge action by federal policy makers to mitigate the financial impacts on ASA members from the Change Healthcare (CHC) cyberattack and system disruption.
 
Last week, ASA sent a formal communication to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, explaining the impact of the shutdown on anesthesiologists’ practices. Subsequently, ASA President Ron Harter, MD, FASA participated in a conference call with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) officials and CHC officials where advance payer payments to practices was a central subject of discussion. 

ASA was pleased that on March 9, CMS announced that the agency’s previously planned consideration of applications for accelerated payments to Medicare Part A providers would be expanded to also include Part B providers and suppliers.

The Change Healthcare/Optum Payment Disruption (CHOPD) accelerated payments will be allotted in “amounts representative of up to thirty days (30) of claims payments to eligible providers and suppliers” and will be based on “total claims paid to the provider/supplier between August 1, 2023 and October 31, 2023, divided by three.” Impacted practices seeking to apply for these payments can learn more from their Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs), which have begun sharing public information on the application process.

CMS previously prepared MACs to accept paper claims and encouraged Medicare Advantage and Part D sponsors as well as Medicaid and CHIP managed care plans to suspend or relax prior authorization.

ASA also supports engaging commercial payers to initiate accelerated payment programs.  

Click here for CMS’ fact sheet on CHOPD accelerated payments, which includes eligibility information.

For more information, read ASA's Washington Alert on the CHC cyberattack and our Washington Alert on ASA’s response.

Please contact the ASA Department of Quality and Regulatory Affairs at [email protected] with any questions.