Practice Management
Information about Recent ChangeHealthcare Cybersecurity Attack
ChangeHealthcare, a subsidiary of United Healthcare, experienced a cybersecurity attack that has impacted insurance payments going to hospitals and health practices. UnitedHealth Group/UnitedHealthcare is providing the latest information and resources related to managing the impacts of this attack on their website: Information on the Change Healthcare Cyber Response - UnitedHealth Group
Financial Assistance
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced an opportunity for physicians impacted by the cyberattack and resulting disruptions with ChangeHealthcare to request advanced Medicare payments to help with cash flow disruptions. The details of the program, terms, and the steps needed to apply can be found in the links below.
MIPS Reporting Deadline Extended
Due to the impact of this attack on physician practices, CMS has extended the 2023 MIPS data submission deadline until April 15. This attack coincides with the 2023 MIPS data submission window, which opened on January 2 and originally was scheduled to close on April 1. CMS has also reopened the 2023 MIPS Extreme and Uncontrollable Circumstances (EUC) hardship application due to the Change Healthcare cyberattack. The deadline to apply for an exemption is April 15, 2024. We are flagging this now due to the short timeline to take advantage of the flexibility. The 2023 MIPS EUC hardship exemption is not automatic and requires physicians to apply. If a physician or practice has already submitted data and would like to take advantage of this flexibility, it requires logging into the CMS portal and updating the submission. If a physician or practice would like to still be scored on the 2023 MIPS Program, the extended deadline to submit data remains April 15, 2024.
See AMA National Study to Document Changes in Physician Practice Expense section below.