We are aware that Change Healthcare is experiencing a network interruption related to a cybersecurity issue and is working to address the matter. The company stated on its website that it took immediate action to disconnect its systems to prevent further impact.
Many health care companies nationwide, including BCBSMA, use Change Healthcare in our business. We are working to assess any potential impact to our operations and will provide more information when it becomes available.
Blue Cross has assessed its systems and has found no intrusion to our internal systems or data at this time. We continue to assess the operational impacts of this incident at Change Healthcare and are putting in place procedures to ensure our members’ access to care and to support our provider partners.
Here are a few questions and answers that have been a “theme” among practices across the state:
Q: I cannot submit a claim due to an issue with Connect Center. What do I do?
A: As you may know, Change Healthcare experienced a cybersecurity incident, which is causing network interruptions with their Connect Center and Dental Connect applications. While these online tools are unavailable, we are working on an interim solution for our provider partners and will provide an update as soon as possible. Please monitor Provider Central for more information.
Q: Should I send in paper claims?
A: We hope to have a solution to this issue that allows you to submit claims electronically soon. We do not recommend that you submit paper claims in the interim. Please monitor Provider Central for more information.
Q : I cannot check claims or eligibility for Blue Cross members. What do I do?
A: As you may know, Change Healthcare experienced a cybersecurity incident, and their systems are down. Provider Services can check on the status of a claim/member eligibility for you now; please provide the member’s name and ID Number.
There were also inquiries related to prior authorizations/referral/checking status: In regards to checking for referrals, you should utilize Authorization Manager which is a BCBSMA tool and not associated with Change Healthcare at all. Authorization Manager is available through Provider Central under eTools. This is the place where prior authorizations are done as well as referrals. There is also a referral/prior authorization status function.
Q: Are Blue Cross systems impacted by this event?
A: We have assessed our systems for impacts and have not found any intrusion to our systems. We do not use the vulnerable software involved in this event. We continue to assess the operational impacts of the network disruption at Change Healthcare and have instituted business resiliency procedures to support continuity of service.
Please continue to log into Provider Central for any updates that are posted.