The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that effective July 12, it will be closing a program intended to provide upfront Medicare payments to providers affected by the Change Healthcare cybersecurity incident. In March, in recognition of provider cash-flow challenges, the CMS stated that Medicare Part A institutional providers and Part B practitioners and suppliers may submit requests for Medicare accelerated and advance payments to their Medicare administrative contractors [refer to Washington Highlights, March 8; March 15]. The CMS noted that it has distributed more than $2.55 billion in accelerated payments to over 4,200 Part A providers and more than $717 million to Part B providers and suppliers. The agency instructed providers to submit all applications for accelerated and advance payments prior to July 12 and directed providers to contact Change Healthcare if they continue to have billing or payment difficulties related to the incident.
- Washington Highlights