TEXAS MEDICINE TODAY

March 15, 2024

SPECIAL ISSUE: CHANGE HEALTHCARE CYBERATTACK UPDATE

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) is granting extensions on claims-filing and prompt-pay deadlines to physicians and TDI-regulated payers that request a waiver because of “catastrophic events,” including the Feb. 21 cyberattack on Change Healthcare. The state agency “is aware of stakeholders’ inability to meet claim filing and prompt pay requirements due to the failure of a third-party service,” according to a Feb. 28 bulletin.  

Physicians who are concerned they may be unable to meet certain deadlines associated with claims submitted to TDI-regulated payers should review TDI’s prompt-pay FAQ and submit a waiver request if necessary. Also of note: Although payers should notify physicians of any catastrophic event that affects claims processing timeframes and expectations, including prompt-pay deadlines, they are not expressly required to do so, according to TDI.  

Tell Congress to Ensure Timely Payment to Practices 

TMA urges Texas physicians to ask their representative in the U.S. House to co-sign a bipartisan letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra regarding the recent cyberattack on Change Healthcare.

The draft letter written by U.S. Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, MD (R-Iowa), and Robin Kelly (D-Illinois), calls on the Biden administration to provide physician practices with the additional resources – most notably, timely Medicare payments – they need to continue caring for patients in the wake of the attack. The tentative deadline for additional co-signers is Monday, March 18. Find your elected official via TMA’s Grassroots Action Center.  

AMA Slams AHIP’s “Dumbfounding” Response to Cyberattack

Despite the Biden administration’s urging that commercial health plans pause prior authorization requirements, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) rejected the need for “broad exemptions” in a March 12 statement.  

“It is dumbfounding that following weeks of silence and a lack of assistance to struggling practices in the wake of the Change Healthcare cyberattack, AHIP’s response is a ‘business as usual’ approach to prior authorization,” American Medical Association President Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, said in a March 14 statement. “Prioritizing profits over the stability and solvency of our care delivery system starkly contrasts with the Biden Administration’s appeal to health plans to ‘meet the moment.’”  

Stay Current With TMA’s Cyberattack Webpage  

For more information on this rapidly evolving situation, check out TMA’s Change Healthcare Cyberattack Webpage. Questions also may be directed to the TMA Knowledge Center by email or by calling (800) 880-7955. 

Questions? Contact the TMA Knowledge Center at (800) 880-7955 or by email for help.