Cybersecurity Incident Affects Health Care Services
On February 21, Change Healthcare, an information technology systems company, experienced a cyber security incident and took their systems offline. Because Change Healthcare offers systems that facilitate many providers doing things like connecting to insurance companies, submitting claims, and conducting a range of other electronic transactions, this situation has affected health care operations nationwide.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) is sending this message to update partners and organizations connected to Wisconsin's Medicaid programs about the situation, our response so far, and how you can help us minimize disruptions to members' health care until the incident has been resolved.
Impacts on Some Pharmacies and Member Prescription Access
Members whose pharmacies use Change Healthcare systems may experience difficulty getting prescriptions during this incident. These pharmacies use Change Healthcare systems to confirm member eligibility, get prior authorizations, and submit point-of-sale claims with prescriptions. Because of the outage, they are unable to conduct electronic transactions with ForwardHealth at this time.
DHS has developed a set of talking points to help partners talk to members about what is happening and what they can do if they have problems getting their medication(s). These talking points at that link will be updated as new information becomes available. Thank you for your assistance in making sure members have this information.
Please note: we have modified some of our non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) policies to allow same-day scheduling for urgent pharmacy trips. Members who have the NEMT benefit can schedule rides to get prescriptions by calling 866-907-1493 (voice) or 711 (TTY).
ForwardHealth System Security
As soon as DHS heard what was happening with Change Healthcare, the department shut down our connections with their systems to protect member and provider information. DHS has not found any indication that member information was accessed from ForwardHealth systems during this incident. The department continues to monitor system traffic to identify any potential future threats.
Additional Resources Available
Please use and share the links below to stay up to date on this evolving situation.
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