Long Island mental health providers feel financial pressure from cyberattack
Change Healthcare, a massive U.S. health care technology company owned by UnitedHealth Group, announced on Thursday a ransomware group claimed responsibility for a cyberattack. Credit: AP/Patrick Sison
A massive cyberattack last month on one of the nation's largest health care platforms has left some Long Island mental health providers in dire financial straits, forcing at least one to begin furloughs and miss payroll.
Clinton Clovis, president of New Hope Mental Health Counseling Services, with offices in Valley Stream and Rockville Centre, said the hack on Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group that's commonly used for medical billing and insurance claims, has put his business on the brink of disaster.
In the past few days, Clovis said he's been forced to furlough four of his 65 employees and to cut the hours for the rest of his staff. On Friday, Clovis said he missed payroll for the first time, although all of his employees have agreed to temporarily work without pay until the situation is settled.
“I've been getting about two-thirds less in daily reimbursements of claims that we've submitted,” said Clovis, who until recently had paid his staff and the rent utilizing a $130,000 line of credit. “This has resulted in a significant reduction in revenue flow.”
New Hope, which conducts 700 mental health counseling sessions per week, uses a company known as Tebra for its insurance verification, prescription management, claims processing and claims reimbursement, Clovis said. Tebra has said its operations were significantly impacted by the Feb. 21 hack.
Clovis said the prescriptions of New Hope patients have not been affected by the hack.
The ransomware attack, which was blamed on a “nation-state,” has upended the work of pharmacies, doctors, mental health providers and hospitals nationwide, causing major disruptions to insurance and billing clams.
Jeffrey Friedman, chief executive of Central Nassau Guidance and Counseling Services in Hicksville, said his team has been forced to find “work arounds” to get bills processed.
“These entail hours of billers time. This takes away from billing other services,” said Friedman, who added that the company has not been forced to miss payroll or furlough staff as a result of the hack. “Cash flow and utilizing staff time to fix the problems has had a ripple effect to all of our other daily functions.”
In a statement Friday, UnitedHealth Group said that pharmacy services are now fully functional while the electronic payment platform should be operational by March 15.
The company said it expects to begin testing and reestablishing connectivity to its claims network and software on March 18, restoring service through that week.
“We are committed to providing relief for people affected by this malicious attack on the U.S. health system,” said Andrew Witty, chief executive of UnitedHealth Group. “All of us at UnitedHealth Group feel a deep sense of responsibility for recovery and are working tirelessly to ensure that providers can care for their patients and run their practices, and that patients can get their medications.”
On Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state's Department of Financial Services issued a letter to health insurers and other benefit issuers, providing guidance on how to work with providers to avoid disruptions in care and to address cash flow disruptions.
“Health care insurers and providers must work together to guarantee that any digital event doesn’t stop people from receiving appropriate care,” Hochul said.
Also Friday, Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand joined nearly two dozen House and Senate members in a letter urging the Department of Health and Human Services and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to “develop enhanced contingency plans for outages within the health care ecosystem.”
Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services urging them to use their authority to make payments to hospitals in advance of receiving claims from them. Schumer also wants UnitedHealth Group to help keep providers afloat with loans.
With Arielle Dollinger
A massive cyberattack last month on one of the nation's largest health care platforms has left some Long Island mental health providers in dire financial straits, forcing at least one to begin furloughs and miss payroll.
Clinton Clovis, president of New Hope Mental Health Counseling Services, with offices in Valley Stream and Rockville Centre, said the hack on Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group that's commonly used for medical billing and insurance claims, has put his business on the brink of disaster.
In the past few days, Clovis said he's been forced to furlough four of his 65 employees and to cut the hours for the rest of his staff. On Friday, Clovis said he missed payroll for the first time, although all of his employees have agreed to temporarily work without pay until the situation is settled.
“I've been getting about two-thirds less in daily reimbursements of claims that we've submitted,” said Clovis, who until recently had paid his staff and the rent utilizing a $130,000 line of credit. “This has resulted in a significant reduction in revenue flow.”
New Hope, which conducts 700 mental health counseling sessions per week, uses a company known as Tebra for its insurance verification, prescription management, claims processing and claims reimbursement, Clovis said. Tebra has said its operations were significantly impacted by the Feb. 21 hack.
Clovis said the prescriptions of New Hope patients have not been affected by the hack.
The ransomware attack, which was blamed on a “nation-state,” has upended the work of pharmacies, doctors, mental health providers and hospitals nationwide, causing major disruptions to insurance and billing clams.
Jeffrey Friedman, chief executive of Central Nassau Guidance and Counseling Services in Hicksville, said his team has been forced to find “work arounds” to get bills processed.
“These entail hours of billers time. This takes away from billing other services,” said Friedman, who added that the company has not been forced to miss payroll or furlough staff as a result of the hack. “Cash flow and utilizing staff time to fix the problems has had a ripple effect to all of our other daily functions.”
In a statement Friday, UnitedHealth Group said that pharmacy services are now fully functional while the electronic payment platform should be operational by March 15.
The company said it expects to begin testing and reestablishing connectivity to its claims network and software on March 18, restoring service through that week.
“We are committed to providing relief for people affected by this malicious attack on the U.S. health system,” said Andrew Witty, chief executive of UnitedHealth Group. “All of us at UnitedHealth Group feel a deep sense of responsibility for recovery and are working tirelessly to ensure that providers can care for their patients and run their practices, and that patients can get their medications.”
On Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state's Department of Financial Services issued a letter to health insurers and other benefit issuers, providing guidance on how to work with providers to avoid disruptions in care and to address cash flow disruptions.
“Health care insurers and providers must work together to guarantee that any digital event doesn’t stop people from receiving appropriate care,” Hochul said.
Also Friday, Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand joined nearly two dozen House and Senate members in a letter urging the Department of Health and Human Services and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to “develop enhanced contingency plans for outages within the health care ecosystem.”
Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services urging them to use their authority to make payments to hospitals in advance of receiving claims from them. Schumer also wants UnitedHealth Group to help keep providers afloat with loans.
With Arielle Dollinger
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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