Medicare Agency To End Advance Payments Following UnitedHealth Cyberattack

On Monday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said it plans to close the advance payments program, which has started to help some Medicare providers and suppliers affected by disruptions at UnitedHealth Group Inc‘s UNH Change Healthcare technology unit.

It launched the payments program in March after a hack at Change Healthcare in February by a group called ALPHV, also known as “BlackCat,” disrupted medical insurance payments across the United States.

CMS said that after July 12, the agency will no longer accept new applications for accelerated or advance payments.

Related: Post UnitedHealth Cyberattack, Community Health Centers Face Prolonged Disruption

The CMS program has issued accelerated payments to over 4,200 Part A providers, such as hospitals, totaling more than $2.55 billion.

CMS also issued 4,722 advance payments, totaling more than $717.18 million, to Part B suppliers, including doctors, non-physician practitioners, and durable medical equipment suppliers.

CMS said it has already recovered over 96% of these payments, and suppliers and service providers are now successfully billing Medicare.

CMS added that any service providers or suppliers having difficulty billing or receiving payment should contact Change Healthcare, which is owned by UnitedHealth.

In May, UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty reassured a U.S. Senate panel that the company’s recent troubles do not threaten the broader economy. 

UnitedHealth has provided over $6 billion in advance funding and interest-free loans to support care providers impacted by the cyberattack.

Also Read: After UnitedHealth Cyberattack, Drug Distributor Cencora Notifies Americans’ Health Information Stolen In Data Breach In February

Price Action: UNH shares are down 0.37% at $487.38 at last check Tuesday.

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