Home medical equipment (HME) suppliers are still reporting significant disruptions in timely claims and payment processing following the cyberattack on Change Healthcare, the American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) said in a March 20 bulletin.
As a response to what AAHomecare called an “unprecedented disruption,” the association said it sent letters the week of March 11 to Congressional leadership, senior staff of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Part C and Medicaid/Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP), and leaders of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
The various letters “emphasize the serious problems this incident is causing for the HME sector and the difficult options facing suppliers,” AAHomecare said.
The letters also recommended expanding advance payments through Medicare Part C, Medicaid payers, and private insurance programs “in a manner similar to Medicare Fee-for-Service advance payment mechanisms announced on March 9” and advocated for expanding “timely filing deadlines to at least 120 days beyond the end of the disruption.”
The letter sent to Congressional leadership specifically urged Congress to “establish a short-term loan program similar to the Payroll Protection Program instituted in 2020 to help businesses offset the loss of income during the COVID-19 public health emergency.”
The AAHomecare bulletin also told stakeholders that CMS released guidance on March 15 “that permits states to expedite interim payments to providers and also allows Medicaid managed care plans to make advance payments to providers and suppliers without the need for CMS approval. The guidance also allows states to relax claims submission requirements if they are more stringent than the federal 12-month limit.”
The Feb. 21 cyberattack on Change Healthcare, a division of UnitedHealth Group, has interrupted claims processing and payments to a large number of health-care providers and businesses. In a March 5 bulletin, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced “flexibilities” that included allowing Medicare providers to change clearinghouses.
“CMS has instructed the MACs [Medicare Administrative Contractors] to expedite this process and move all provider and facility requests into production and ready to bill claims quickly,” the HHS bulletin said. “CMS is strongly encouraging other payers, including state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program agencies and Medicaid and CHIP managed care plans, to waive or expedite solutions for this requirement.”
