(TheConservativeTimes.org) – A cyberattack on UnitedHealth back in February has left some health officials in a bind when it comes to getting paid.
Some practices, such as Change Healthcare, say that they are no longer able to electronically bill patients for their services. Paper claims were another issue as they were not being accepted by California’s Medicare payment processor, and can already take months to complete anyway. A spokesperson for the California Medical Association stated that paper claims should be accepted by Medicare and Medicaid centers.
The cyberattack on UnitedHealth care was called “the most significant and consequential incident of its kind against the U.S. healthcare system in history,” according to the American Hospital Association.
Co-founder of the cyber advocacy group I Am The Cavalry, Beau Woods, spoke out about the current security practices that are put in place for healthcare. He said, “The federal government needs to devote greater funding, and more focus, to the problem.”
It’s expected that after a cyberattack such as this one, it could take a minimum of 30 days to fix some of the baseline issues that were created during the attack. United Health is still working on restoring two services: electronic payments and medical claims, which could take until later in the month. Attempting to alleviate the issues, United Health stated, “While we work to restore these systems, we strongly recommend our provider and payer clients use the applicable workarounds we have established.”
Many patients and practices are suffering as patients are having to pay out of pocket and practices are hurting if their patients are unable to pay this way. These practices are running their business with very little or no revenue and they’re taking a hit.
Stephen Sisselman had grave concerns as an independent care physician, asking, “How can you pay staff, supplies, and malpractice insurance, without revenue?”
Although there have been loan programs available for practices and hospitals, the amount that they are giving won’t suffice. Sisselman said that the loan only offers him $540 a week when his practice is supposed to bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue a month.
Providers and practices are pushing for the government to step up and take action to solve the issues that they are dealing with.
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