Provider claims to payers have dropped by more than a third in the wake of the Change Healthcare cyber attack, according to a March 13 news release from Kodiak Solutions.
Kodiak's revenue cycle analytics software monitors patient financial transactions from more than 1,850 hospitals and 250,000 physicians nationwide.
The cash flow effects of those delayed claims have ranged from $1.84 billion in the first week to $2.53 billion in the lastest full week when compared with the average weekly estimated cash value of claims from Jan. 1 through Feb. 17, according to the release. Change Healthcare, which processes 1 in 3 healthcare claims in the U.S., was hacked by a ransomware group on Feb. 21.
Through March 9, the total estimated cash flow impact for hospitals reporting data to Kodiak is $6.3 billion in delayed payments, according to the release.
Colleen Hall, Kodiak's senior vice president and revenue cycle leader, said she expects the effects will grow over time, even after claims processing returns to normal, according to the release.
"We expect this interruption of claims processing to also increase insurance denials for medical necessity, prior authorization and timely filing," Ms. Hall said in the release.