Date: March 10, 2024
NACHC sent HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra a letter about the impact of the Change Healthcare security breach on Community Health Centers:
“On behalf of the 1,487 Community Health Centers serving over 31.5 million patients, or 1 in 11 Americans nationwide, I write to update you on the significant negative impact on health centers from the Change Healthcare security breach. This cyberattack has had widespread implications on our healthcare system, and health center staff are straining to adjust to workarounds to maintain patient care. I appreciate your leadership in pushing UnitedHealth Group and other insurers to do all they can to mitigate the harm to healthcare providers by urging them to make interim payments and ease administrative burden. Ensuring that health centers have the resources they need to care for patients is paramount. Health centers’ operations, cash flow, and patients have been impacted since the cyberattack against Change Healthcare on February 21.
As the largest network of primary care providers, with 90 percent of our patients at or below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, health centers rely on timely reimbursement to maintain day-to-day operations. The consequences of the breach have created significant funding challenges for health centers simultaneously while they adapt to substantial changes in Medicaid enrollment and federal funding uncertainty. Health centers are experiencing cash flow challenges due to unpaid or unprocessed claims, especially for Medicaid and Medicare Part B.”