Virtual Vigilance
“The Change outage was disruptive to the business of my practice, but most importantly it was disruptive to my patients,” Dr. Bruggeman testified. “Every minute my staff spent trying to reconcile [electronic remittance advice] with received payments, assessing which patients received incorrect bills, [and] resubmitting prior authorizations is time taken away from patient care.”
Robust Cybersecurity Can Safeguard Practices
By Alisa Pierce Texas Medicine June 2024
Data held hostage
. . . cautions that ransomware attacks can be delivered via multiple platforms, such as in email attachments or links within an email. Malicious attachments can include documents, zip files, and executable applications, and suspicious email links can bring users directly to websites that are used to place malware on a system.
Similarly, “phishing” email scams can give hackers access to internal business systems that could reveal confidential information like credit card numbers, personal identity data, and passwords. Often these emails appear to come from real companies or trusted individuals.
From there, hackers steal electronic patient data, even encrypted information; block the practice from accessing it; and demand a ransom for its return, much like “a hostage situation,” according to Shannon Vogel, TMA’s associate vice president of health information technology.
If that data aren’t backed up, practices don’t have much leeway. At that point, they can either hope the data can be retrieved by law enforcement or move forward without patient records.
“It’s vital that practices talk to their [electronic health record] and other vendors about redundant systems so that all is not lost,” Ms. Vogel said. “Otherwise, it would be like starting from scratch.”
Cigna and Zelis
If you have accidently signed up to receive virtual credit card (VCC) payments, and would like to change back to Automated Clearinghouse (ACH), please call Zelis.
Zelis Customer Service:(877) 828-8770
If you have questions regarding claim payments, please contact Cigna Healthcare Provider Service Line (800) 882-4462.
UHC Notably Absent from Congressional Hearing
Quotes from Texas Medicine 4/19/2024, Emma Freer Article
“The attack has exposed the vulnerability in our health care system and the disproportionate burden placed on physician practices by insurers, government payers, and third-party vendors,” Dr. Bruggeman told lawmakers.
“The Change outage was disruptive to the business of my practice, but most importantly it was disruptive to my patients,” he said. “Every minute my staff spent trying to reconcile [electronic remittance advice] with received payments, assessing which patients received incorrect bills, [and] resubmitting prior authorizations is time taken away from patient care.”
“To add insult to injury, some of these practices were purchased by Optum during the crisis,” he said. “There were even reports of Optum using the financial emergency caused by the cyberattack on its own subsidiary as legal justification to expedite its acquisition of physician practices.”
In the meantime, Dr. Bruggeman called on Congress to pass legislation that would insulate physician practices from industry consolidation and other existential threats.
“Allowing physicians to practice in the setting that is best for them, their patients, and the broader community should be the hallmark of our United States health care system,” he said. “Instead, the increase in administrative burden, including the new threat of potential cyberattacks, makes such events catastrophic for many providers.”
For the full very interesting article: https://www.texmed.org/TexasMedicineDetail.aspx?id=64062&utm_campaign=TMT&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9E4jpFAqBr1fYThi6pjc3ECIrkJtF4-urerPcLF78JmZ4BixUPkxoA-ngiRvbPx06ORd5U2bsbiOEFK-CaqUP6-URb8jMZ6SEHyZL-aPXwfFmCQ9w&_hsmi=303492305&utm_content=303492305&utm_source=hs_email
POET Emergency Number
Here of late, POET has experienced our phone lines going down, more often than usual.
We do not like this one little bit. We always want to be there when you need us.
We have set up an emergency line, separate from our regular phone service.
If ever you call and can not get through, please keep this emergency number handy.
1-888-803-3871
We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.
POET Phones Are Down
Please Email if you need us.
Updated 4/11/2024. We are back up and running. Please forgive us for any inconvenience.
Termination of Employee
No matter how much time we spend vetting potential hires, eventually, someone isn’t going to work out.
Regardless of the reason, there will come a time when an employee needs to be let go. These decisions are difficult, but the change needs to be made for the long-term benefit of the practice and the other employees.
Reduced 2024 Medicare Physician Pay Cut Now in Effect.
Thanks to the passage of a new federal spending bill, the 3.4% Medicare physician pay cut that took effect on Jan. 1 was reduced to 1.68% as of March 9. This reduced cut and the corresponding new conversion factor of $33.2875 will remain in effect through Dec. 31.
Change Healthcare Update
In its latest update on the response to the cyberattack on Change Healthcare, UnitedHealth Group said that its largest clearinghouse, called Relay Exchange, will be back online by the end of the weekend and the company will begin processing $14 billion in medical claims.
“Once a critical mass of payer connectivity has been established, we will turn on claims processing for Assurance customers. That process will occur automatically for those Assurance customers when we trigger restart,” UnitedHealth said in its update. “Following activation of Assurance software customers, we will turn our attention to the reactivation of all other Relay Exchange claims submitters. Throughout the reactivation of these provider customer groups, we will continue to add additional payer connectivity to close any remaining gaps. We will start immediately with establishing payer connectivity so claims entering the clearinghouse have a destination.”
The company is targeting the week of April 1 to restore its clinical exchange service, payer connectivity and hosted payer services.
The following week, April 8, the company plans to restore its Risk Manager and Health QX products.
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