MGMA Urges HHS to Financially Assist Medical Groups Amid Change Cyberattack

The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) urged HHS to use “all the tools at its disposal” to mitigate the impacts of the Change Healthcare cyberattack on medical groups in a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.

As the industry enters its second week of outages, providers are facing uncertainty when it comes to billing and cash flow, with no timeline for regaining access to Change systems. MGMA’s conversations with members over the past week revealed troubling themes.

For example, medical groups are facing “substantial” billing and cash flow disruptions, are getting limited electronic remittance advice from health plans, and are grappling with a lack of connectivity to crucial data infrastructure that enables providers to succeed in value-based care arrangements, MGMA stated.

What’s more, MGMA has heard from members that prior authorization submissions have been rejected or not transmittable at all, and groups have been unable to perform eligibility checks for patients. Pharmacies are also facing significant disruptions, forcing some patients to self-pay or go without necessary medication.

“Physician groups have been diligently instituting workarounds for issues that have arisen but given the already significant financial constraints practices are facing — ongoing cuts to Medicare reimbursement, high inflation, staffing shortages — significant delays in payment and other impediments could further weaken their ability to operate,” MGMA noted.

“Overall, most practices (especially those outside of health systems) have a line of credit, but many don't carry reserves from year to year given their tax status. Credit is essential at the beginning of the year before practices are able to accrue enough revenue to pay salaries and expenses. The timing could not be worse.”

MGMA urged HHS to offer guidance, financial resources, and enforcement discretion for providers during this time.

The advocacy group also suggested that these financial hardships “illustrate just how impactful an extended billing disruption can be when consolidated under one large corporate entity.”

The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently launched an antitrust investigation into UnitedHealth, which owns Optum and also acquired Change Healthcare in 2022 with an $8 billion transaction. Change Healthcare said it had a high level of confidence that Optum, UnitedHealthcare, and UnitedHealth Group systems were not impacted by the cyberattack.

MGMA’s letter highlighted the significant impact that the cyberattack continues to have on medical practices across the country.

“MGMA looks forward to working with HHS to ensure medical groups are able to operate effectively despite these attempts to weaken our nation’s health system,” the letter concluded.