CMS preparing to close program that addressed Medicare funding issues resulting from Change Healthcare cyber-attack
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that payments under the Accelerated and Advance Payment (AAP) Program for the Change Healthcare/Optum Payment Disruption (CHOPD) will conclude on July 12, 2024.
Launched in early March, the CHOPD payments were designed to ease cash flow disruptions experienced by some Medicare providers and suppliers, such as hospitals, physicians, and pharmacists, due to the unprecedented cyberattack that took healthcare electronic data interchange Change Healthcare offline in February.
CHOPD accelerated payments have been issued to over 4,200 Part A providers, such as hospitals, totaling more than $2.55 billion. CMS also issued 4,722 CHOPD advance payments, totaling more than $717.18 million, to Part B suppliers, including doctors, non-physician practitioners, and durable medical equipment suppliers.
Providers of services and suppliers are now successfully billing Medicare, and to date, CMS has already recovered over 96% of the CHOPD payments. After July 12, 2024, CMS will no longer accept new applications for CHOPD accelerated or advance payments. Any providers of services or suppliers that are having difficulty billing or receiving payment should contact Change Healthcare, owned by UnitedHealth Group, by visiting https://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/ns/changehealthcare.html and/or their Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC). To find your MACs contact information, please visit https://www.cms.gov/mac-info. All new CHOPD program applications must be submitted from eligible providers and suppliers prior to that date.
