BETHESDA, MD, March 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aledade, the nation’s largest network of independent primary care, today announced actions it is taking to support its network of primary care practices nationwide facing severe financial strain and other repercussions in the aftermath of the Change Healthcare cyberattack.
“We have heard clearly from our practices that they need help to keep providing high quality patient care and their doors open,” said Farzad Mostashari, M.D., co-founder and CEO of Aledade. “This is a financial emergency for a substantial number of independent practices nationwide. We need decisive policy action to inject liquidity into the system until alternative payment workflows are established. We feel privileged to be able to support the practices we partner with during these challenging times.”
In the wake of this ongoing ransomware attack, which has shut down the system many independent doctors depend on to file claims and get paid for providing care, Aledade is:
- Accelerating payment of up to $100 million in shared savings to partner practices experiencing financial hardship. These funds are intended to augment the limited options now available to practices to meet their financial obligations and allow them to continue providing high quality patient-care.
- Advocating for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide more liquidity options for doctors, including wide availability of the Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payment program, through which the agency can pre-pay three months of claims based on the prior three months of Medicare claims; continuing to pay in full any claims a practice submits until the Change Healthcare attack is resolved; and expediting requests to change clearinghouses for Medicare claims.
- Establishing a website for its physician practice partners to get timely and reliable updates as well as information to help them locate alternative clearinghouse options compatible with their electronic health records systems.
“This incident, as we also saw during COVID-19, is the latest reminder of problems inherent with the fee-for-service payment system and how primary care practices can leverage value-based payments to provide resilience in times of uncertainty,” said Dr. Mostashari. “At Aledade, we are deeply committed to taking every action we can to advocate for and protect our doctors and help them navigate this difficult time so they can return to doing what they do better than anyone else – keeping people healthy.”
More information on Aledade’s efforts and regular practice updates can be found at https://resources.aledade.com/change-healthcare-cyber-attack-response/.
About Aledade
Aledade, a public benefit corporation, is the largest network of independent primary care in the country, helping independent practices, health centers and clinics deliver better care to their patients and thrive in value-based care. Through its proven, scalable model, which includes cutting-edge data analytics, user-friendly guided workflows, health care policy expertise, strong payer relationships and integrated care solutions, Aledade empowers physicians to succeed financially by keeping people healthy. Together with more than 1,500 practices and CHCs in 46 states and the District of Columbia, Aledade shares in the risk and reward across more than 150 value-based contracts representing more than two million patient lives under management. To learn more, visit www.aledade.com or follow on X (Twitter), Facebook or LinkedIn.
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